Archive of Our Own ^beta

“He's making a run for it!”

Bruce was already in pursuit before Dick finished shouting. Their guy had a head start, but Bruce was faster, and he had plenty of gadgets to assist him in capture.

He pulled out a bolas from his utility belt, never losing his speed as he prepared to throw it. Just as he released it, a weight collided with him from the right.

Bolas missed its target, and Bruce landed on the ground, with one of the goons pressing him to it, arm already pulled back in a punch.

He never threw it. Bruce easily rolled them around and struck himself. Within a second, he was back on his feet, batarang in hand.

Their runner was in a car, desperate to start it. Batman aimed for the tire, but once again he was interrupted. The throwing blade skidded on the ground just before the car when Bruce was thrown off his balance, ankle in a tight grip.

With a growl, he turned around and glared at the goon on the ground, smirking up at him with bloody teeth.

Batman yanked the man's head up by the collar of his jacket and punched him again.

“Stay down,” he ordered, looking back around, just to see the car with their target driving away.

Bruce curled his hands in fists, frustration bubbling just under his skin. Dick trotted up to him, out of breath from his own fight.

“Man, we almost had him,” he complained, resting his hands on his knees.

In the quiet of the night, they could still hear the car speeding away from them, adding to their anger and disappointment. 

So close.

Even if they raced to the Batmobile right now, there was a very slim chance they would've been able to catch up to the guy. 

Wind picked up for a second, tugging violently at their capes. Bruce was about to turn around and start bounding the unconscious goons that tried to protect their boss and succeeded, when the sound of the driving car came to a halt with a loud screech of tires.

A moment later, the vehicle with their target appeared over the roof of the building, a person cladded in blue and red underneath it, holding it in the air.

Dick gasped by his side.

“Is this really him?!” he asked, watching in awe.

Unfortunately, Bruce thought to himself as Superman landed in front of them, a happy grin on his face.

“I found something of yours,” he announced and put the car down, quickly floating to the driver's side.

Their guy shouted in panic when Superman ripped the door open and then grabbed him, pulling him outside. He held the twisting and shouting man by the back of his jacket like an unruly kitten.

“Where do you want him?” he asked Bruce, still with that annoying grin.

Bruce didn't answer, just pulled out a zip tie, and without telling him what to do, Superman put the man on the ground, turning his back to Bruce. He held him in place by the shoulders so he wouldn't run.

“Hi!” Superman said in a friendly tone to the guy, who stared at him with a terrified expression while Batman quickly tied his hands behind his back.

With the man secured, he pulled him from Superman's hold and knocked him out cold, letting him fall to the ground, right next to his goon.

Superman watched the unconscious men with a tilted head, before his attention was stolen by Robin sneaking under his cape.

“Wow!” Dick exclaimed, looking up at the man with an excited grin. “Are you really Superman?” 

Superman chuckled, outstretching his arms and looking at his body. “I think so.”

Dick's grin grew, and he touched Superman's belly with his finger, poking curiously.

“Robin,” Bruce scolded. Not only because of the boy's lack of manners, but because he wanted him away from the alien.

Dick startled, moving from under Superman's cape. “Sorry for poking you,” he apologized, reluctantly returning to Bruce's side.

“Don't worry, didn't even hurt,” Superman assured.

“B!” Dick tugged Bruce's cape, bouncing in place. “It's really him!”

Keeping Dick behind him, Bruce walked to Superman who watched him with interest.

“Hi!” he greeted, smiling with his whole face. “Nice to finally meet you, Batman. I'm Superman.”

He extended his hand to shake, but Bruce didn't take it, didn't even look at it.

“I know who you are,” he replied coldly. Superman's smile faltered and he lowered his hand. “What are you doing here? Don't you have your own city to take care of?”

“Well, it's a slow night so I decided to check the infamous Batman,” he explained, rubbing the back of his neck. “See with my own eyes if he's real.”

“I am real,” Bruce confirmed. “Now get out of my city.”

“Batman!” Dick gasped behind him, dumbfounded.

“Stay out of it, Robin,” Bruce ordered him.

Superman looked at him, brows frowned in confusion. “Did I do something wrong?”

“You came here,” Bruce answered flatly.

“Is it not allowed?” the alien questioned, his frown deepening.

“I don't want any meta-humans in my city.”

Meta-humans meant trouble, and he had enough of them without a bunch of mutated people running amuck.

“Technically, I'm an alien,” Superman corrected.

He had a nervous smile that quickly vanished when Bruce glared at him.

“Right, you don't care.” He cleared his throat and stepped back from Batman. “Sorry for bothering you, just wanted to help, that's all,” he explained with a shrug.

“We don't need your help,” Bruce told him.

Superman watched him, the corner of his lips twitching slightly. “You know, you can't actually stop me from coming here,” he replied with a cross of his arms over his chest.

“Try me,” Bruce snarled.

Superman, reasonably, raised his hands in defeat and made another step back. He looked past Batman at Robin, smiling at him.

“It was nice to meet you, Robin,” he said, giving the boy a wave.

Bruce didn't have to look back to know Dick was waving back.

“You too, Superman.” Bruce could hear the grin in his voice. “You're my favorite superhero!”

Batman wanted to punch the smug look off Superman’s face. 

“You may want to not say it in front of Batty here.” He nodded his head at Bruce.

Robin giggled, making the alien smirk at Batman as he took off into the sky, quickly disappearing from their sight.

Batman glared at him till he was still visible and even after, only stopping when he was punched in the shoulder by Dick.

“Did you have to be such a jerk?” the boys accused. “He just came to say hi.”

“He got into our business,” was Bruce's answer. He pulled out more zip ties from his belt to finally start gathering and securing all the goons.

“Big deal,” Robin groaned.

Bruce fastened the tie a bit too harshly on the first goon’s wrists. “And I don't trust him,” he added.

Robin hopped to walk backwards in front of Bruce as he began to head back to where most of the criminals laid unconscious. 

“Why not?” the boy asked. “He's a hero. Like you.”

“I'm not a hero,” Bruce corrected. “Neither is he. He's just some alien playing god.”

He was dangerous, and Batman was going to do anything it took to keep him away from Gotham. 

Bruce was sure that was the first and last time he saw Superman outside of tv. People avoided Gotham like a plague after a less unfriendly welcome than the one he gave to the Big Blue.

If Bruce could, he would've used even more venom while interacting with the alien, but knowing his powers, he didn't want to risk it. Especially with Robin around.

He saw the extent of Superman’s abilities, and he really didn't want to fight him without preparation. Bruce knew the fight would've ended before properly beginning. 

Superman didn't seem to be aggressive in any way or easily provoked for that matter. During their meeting he acted rather friendly, just like during any public appearance. 

Too friendly. 

Which made sense since he was an alien with no knowledge of human behavior. He tried way too hard to fit in and instead looked fake. Overselling it.

Why Superman even bothered, Bruce didn't know, but he hoped this man… alien, didn't have any ulterior motives.

Otherwise, Earth was pretty much cooked.

It was a quiet night in Gotham. Unusually so, which made Bruce more uneasy rather than calm, as he observed the street below.

He and Robin were taking a break. For the kid's sake, Batman didn't need rest, that's why he was still keeping vigil, but he wasn't going to make Dick run through the rooftops and beat bad guys all night without catching a break.

He wasn't cruel.

After stopping a minor robbery, they swung to their favorite rooftop so Dick could rest and eat something.

It was a secluded spot, well covered from the cold wind that occurred at those heights. There was even a place where they could hide from the rain, although Bruce tended to make them retreat to the car if it was raining during patrol.

If he could, he didn't even take Robin with himself on a patrol if it was raining. He didn't want the kid to catch a cold. But sometimes the weather changed unexpectedly, and they were too far from the car to hide there. That's when this one rooftop came into play.

Dick was already done with the sandwiches Alfred made for them earlier. One was for Bruce, but he refused to eat - like always - and made the boy eat it. The kid needed it more anyway, he was still growing.

Now Dick was sitting on the ac unit, scrolling on his phone to pass the time. He was ready to be back in action, but Bruce always made him wait a bit after eating to not upset his stomach. 

He learned the hard way how doing flips or getting hit on the full stomach could end up.

The night was so peaceful, with no sign of it getting worse, that Bruce started considering cutting it short today.

Of course, that's when his ears picked up the faint sound of fabric fluttering on the wind that he knew wasn't made by his or Robin's cape.

“Superman!” Dick's excited voice reached from behind him.

Batman growled and looked behind, watching his boy bounce on the balls of his feet while Superman landed beside him, grinning too wide to be genuine.

He ruffled Dick’s hair, making him gasp in awe, before locking his eyes with Bruce, undisturbed by the glare he was sending the alien's way.

“I realized our first meeting didn’t go too well, so this time I’m bringing a peace offering,” Superman announced, showing off three paper cups with lids. “Coffee. And hot chocolate for the young hero.”

He picked one cup and handed it to Dick, who quickly popped the lid open and took a big sip of the sweet drink.

Great, now Robin won't go to sleep for the rest of the night.

Pulling the cup away with a big, satisfied sigh, Dick looked up at Superman and smiled. “Thanks, Supes.”

It earned him another ruffle of the hair and a warm chuckle from the alien, both of which made Dick blush.

Leaving the boy to the rest of the drink - although Dick's eyes were still following the alien with wonder - Superman approached Batman.

Bruce looked away and at the street below again.

Superman stopped right next to him, on the same ledge Bruce was perched on, doing his best to ignore the alien.

It didn't work in discouraging him.

“I didn’t know what coffee you liked, so I brought plain black,” Superman explained cheerfully, offering Bruce one of the remaining two cups. “I have packets of sugar and cream with me if you want some tho.”

Batman didn't take the coffee.

“I told you to stay out of Gotham,” he said instead, keeping his voice cold and unfriendly. Complete opposite of Superman's tone.

“And I told you you can’t stop me,” the alien responded and unbothered, he retracted his hand with the coffee, realizing it wasn't going to get accepted. “It’s a free country.”

The smug way he said that pissed Bruce off.

He stood up quickly, faster than a normal human was capable of, and stepped right into Superman's personal space, squaring him up. He looked right into the alien's blue eye, glaring at him with all he got.

Superman didn't even blink. With a calm face, he brought his cup of coffee to his mouth, wrapping it around a straw, and sipped - slurping loudly.

Bruce's eye twitched under the cowl and he felt a migraine coming.

“I assume it usually works on some purse stealing thugs, but it won’t work on me, Bats,” Superman told him, straw still in his mouth, his expression unimpressed.

“Get your coffee and yourself out of my city,” Bruce ordered, snarling right into his face. He then turned around, stepping from the ledge, cape flaring. “Go save a cat from a tree.”

Superman huffed behind him. “Fine. I can tell when I’m not welcome.”

He made a dramatic step towards the edge of the building, suspending himself into the air and drinking his annoying coffee like nothing happened.

Robin looked between both of them, clutching his hot chocolate. Bruce nodded at him to follow him, but instead, the boy trotted to Superman who unfortunately didn't fly away yet. As if he was expecting Batman to change his mind about him.

When pigs fly.

Bruce observed carefully how Dick stopped on the ledge next to Superman, and in a badly conspiratorial way, he coaxed the alien to lean down to his level.

Dick whispered into his ear, not being very quiet. “He likes his coffee with cream and two sugars.”

Superman straightened up, blinking in confusion.

“Oh.” His eyes flicked to Bruce quickly - standing there, unmoving - before returning to Robin, lips stretching into a big smile. “Thanks, partner.”

He offered his fist to the boy, and Dick bumped it with his own eagerly, already opening his mouth to talk with the alien.

“Robin!” Batman snapped, now definitely having the start of the migraine.

Dick jumped, startled. He gave Superman an apologetic smile and ran back to Bruce. “Coming!”

Bruce waited for Dick to fire his grappling hook first, observing Superman the entire time. He was still here, watching.

Before Bruce followed his boy, Superman gave him a wave and finally flew away, heading back to Metropolis where he belonged.

There was no place for him in Gotham.

Bruce started dreading going to their hanging spot in case Superman was going to bother them again.

Or just him rather.

Because Robin was far from bothered by the alien's presence and couldn't stop talking about him to anyone willing to listen. To those who weren’t as well. And because Dick only interacted with Bruce and Alfred most of the time, that meant the two of them were the targets of his fawning about Big Blue.

Bruce didn't have a heart to tell him to stop, so he listened, no matter how annoyed he was by Dick's worship. Or that he stopped looking down at Gotham to spot a crime in the making, and instead stared at the sky, looking out for a streak of blue and red.

Superman didn't show up for a few days, but Batman refused to call it a good sign. Last time he stayed out of Gotham for some time as well, before he returned, bringing his damn coffee and cheerful personality to Bruce's city.

There was still a chance he would show up, so Bruce didn't hold his hopes up just yet.

Exactly one week after their last encounter, Bruce climbed the roof for their break, Dick just behind him.

He hoisted himself up and immediately froze mid crouch. In the middle of the roof were two cups from a coffee shop, with a printed logo saying Metropolis’ Brew. They were still hot, steam raising from the small holes in the lids.

Recently placed.

Batman straightened up to his full height and looked around, at the sky, at the nearby rooftops, but there was no sign of bright blue and red color.

Staring at the cups again, Bruce narrowed his eyes with a hum.

“What's the matter, B?” Robin asked, flipping himself onto the ledge next to him. Before Bruce answered, Dick spotted the cups with drinks and grinned. “Aww, Superman is such a sweet guy!”

He rushed to the cups, crouching beside them, and after a few seconds, he picked up one and started to drink, clearly enjoying himself.

Probably got hot chocolate again.

“You shouldn’t drink unknown liquids,” Bruce berated him, stepping closer.

Robin twirled on the heel of his boot to face him. Even with a domino mask on, Batman could tell the boy was rolling his eyes at him.

“What, you think he could poison us?” he mocked. “Come on, he could annihilate us with one look if he wanted to, he doesn’t need to play dirty.”

Robin was right. Superman had plenty of other ways to kill someone than poisoning - the weapon of cowards and women with terrible husbands.

“It may not be from him,” he still pointed out.

He doubted anyone else would've come here to leave the drinks for them, convincingly from a coffee shop from Metropolis, just a couple of days after Superman did it the first time.

Some criminals liked to scheme but this was overdoing it.

“He left a note,” Dick mentioned, nodding at the remaining cup.

Underneath it was a piece of paper from a notepad. Batman picked it up in one hand, and coffee in the second.

It took me half a second to put it here and leave, I hope it doesn’t count as being in your city :( 

It’s a cold night, hope it helps. Cream and two sugars, just like you like it :)

Sincerely, Superman

Robin scooted to him while he was reading, sipping his hot chocolate.

“He’s a nice guy, don’t you think?” he asked humorously.

Bruce crumpled the note. “More like annoying,” he corrected. Did Superman understand the concept of the words ‘stay out of my city’? “I still don’t trust him.”

“Oh come on!” Dick groaned and lightly kicked him on the shin. Bruce didn't even feel it thanks to his boots, but he still glared at the kid who glared right back. “At least drink the coffee, he paid for it!”

Bruce stared at the coffee in his hand that was warming up thanks to it, even through the glove.

He didn't need coffee. He especially didn't need coffee from Superman. Drinking it would only encourage the alien to keep coming to annoy him, and that was the last Bruce needed.

Bastard was probably somewhere around, watching and grinning like a fool because he thought he found a loophole to make Batman drink his coffee.

As if a silly note could convince him to drink it.

Robin was still glaring at him, eyebrows scrunched with determination and sheer stubbornness. He wasn't going to budge.

Grumbling, Bruce flipped the lid open and took a sip, much to Dick's delight, who grinned. Satisfied, the boy returned to his own drink.

Batman took another sip. The coffee was good, warming him up nicely from the inside.

He hated it.

Superman didn't appear again for a few days. Neither did coffee, which was relieving. 

Dick was disappointed. 

Bruce knew better to think Superman gave up. If Batman growling at him didn't scare him, probably nothing would. It was only a matter of time before he would be back.

He didn't tell Robin that, not wanting the kid to get used to those visits in case Bruce's wish would come true after all and Superman wouldn't return.

Which of course didn't happen. 

He and Robin were on a stake out, watching the apartment of their target from the roof on the other side of the street.

Stalking was never Dick's favorite job, unless it required actively following the target, which allowed the boy to burn out his endless energy.

But sitting in place and patiently watching had to be done too sometimes. Bruce didn't mind the boring part, unlike Robin, who after an hour of watching their target, was already bored out of his mind. Not to mention cranky, because they were well past their time for lunch break. 

Their target was still in his apartment, watching tv - Die Hard of all movies - and was showing no signs of leaving anytime soon.

Robin huffed for what seemed like a hundred times in the past twenty minutes. He tried to watch the movie with their perp via binoculars, but it wasn't fun without listening to dialogues.

Batman considered sending Dick to the Cave and finishing this job alone when all the hair on his body stood up abruptly.

“Who are we watching?” a voice just above them whispered.

“Jesus!” Robin shouted, jumping into the air like a spooked cat.

Bruce barely stopped his body from reacting in a similar manner, and managed to stay still, heart racing.

“Nope, just me,” Superman chuckled and landed on Robin's other side, mimicking their crouched positions.

How did Bruce not hear him earlier? How long was he here before Bruce's senses finally realized something was wrong?

Dick was still calming his labored breathing when a big, happy grin stretched his lips at the sight of Superman.

“Hope I’m not interrupting,” the alien said, smiling, glancing at Bruce briefly.

“No.”

“Yes.”

Batman and Robin looked at each other - Batman scowling, Robin smiling innocently. Over Dick's head, Bruce noticed Superman stifling a snort behind his palm.

Why couldn't he leave them alone?

With a frustrated growl, Bruce looked away first, focusing back on their target and ignoring the annoying look of triumph on both Dick and Superman's faces.

He was allowing it just for the boy. At least he got life back into him.

“So, who are we watching?” the alien asked again.

“Gregory Tully, gangster,” Dick responded instantly and enthusiastically. Superman leaned to him, attentive, staring at the window Dick pointed to him. “The guy you caught when we first met worked for him. He’s planning something and we’re trying to figure out what.”

“Robin,” Batman scolded.

Superman didn't need to know all that. HE didn't want him to know all that. The fact the alien was here was annoying enough, Bruce didn't need him thinking he was now part of this job.

“What? He asked,” Robin responded with a shrug.

“I can help,” Superman offered, sending Batman a smile.

Bruce, in return, glared at him. “I don’t need your help.”

He already regretted letting him stay.

It was wishful thinking on his part to hope that the alien would just stay quiet and entertain Dick without getting into Batman's business.

Of course he wanted to help despite probably knowing nothing about stealth. Superman's modus operandi was to punch whatever threat he faced, not observe it. How could he possibly assist with this? He would only mess it all up.

Not to mention Bruce really didn't need any help with waiting for Tully to move and meet with his acquaintance, from a god-like alien.

Superman, of course, ignored his protests. He looked towards the building, his eyes rapidly flashing white.

“He’s in the building, talking on the phone to some woman about a guy named Dominic Torres,” he informed. His eyes got back to normal before he returned them to Bruce. “Do we know him?”

Bruce stared back at him, silent. Superman was more helpful than he assumed, and his abilities were equally terrifying and impressive. Not that Bruce would ever admit the latter. 

He turned back to the window.

Dick watched the alien with a gaping mouth. “Wow, you got all of it from here?!” he asked in awe.

“Super hearing and x-ray vision,” the alien bragged a little and winked. 

“So cool.” Dick turned his whole body to him, sitting cross-legged on the roof. “What can you see with it?”

“Everything.”

“Even my organs?” Dick gasped.

“Yup,” Superman confirmed proudly.

“So cool!” the boy exclaimed again. “You could see what I had for dinner!”

Superman chuckled at his excitement. “I only can’t see through lead.”

The casual way he revealed it startled Batman. He looked away from Tully's window and looked at the alien.

“You shouldn’t reveal your weaknesses like that,” he warned.

He wasn't really complaining, it would be good to know Superman's weak points in case he would get bored of assisting humanity one day. But it was still concerning that Big Blue was talking about it so openly.

Superman shrugged. “I think I’m pretty safe with a fellow hero,” he said with a confident grin.

“I’m not a hero,” Bruce corrected him quickly.

Superman narrowed his eyes in confusion. He was already opening his mouth to say something back when Robin gasped.

“Wait, can you see through clothes?!” he questioned.

“Yeah,” the alien answered easily. 

Batman tensed. 

He could look at their faces. 

As if reading his thoughts - which at this point, Bruce wouldn't be surprised if that was one of Big Blue’s powers - Superman quickly started reassuring them. 

“Don’t worry, I won’t ever look under your or Batman’s masks. Scouts honor!” he swore with a hand over his heart and the other in the air.

Bruce eyed him, searching for any sign of deception or lie, but all he saw was an honest, open expression and a calming smile.

He still worried that his secret identity wasn't much of a secret anymore. 

“He moved,” Robin told both of them suddenly. 

Batman turned to the window and noticed the tv and lights were off. A moment later, Tully appeared on the street in front of his apartment building, heading to his car parked a few blocks over.

“Let’s follow him,” Bruce ordered, already moving along the rooftop's ledge, Robin on his heels.

“I can follow from the sky,” Superman suggested, floating behind them both.

With a grappling gun in his hand, Bruce looked over his shoulder at the alien. “We don’t need your help.”

To his surprise, Superman didn't argue, probably realizing he used all of Batman's patience and it was better to leave.

“Fine, I’m leaving,” he assured, turning to Dick. Sweeping his red cape, he bowed in front of the boy dramatically. “Robin, it was a pleasure as always.”

Dick giggled gleefully and returned the gesture.

“The pleasure is all mine.”

Maybe Superman, despite appearing as a grown man, was actually a child in his alien years. That would explain why he was so obnoxiously annoying most of the time.

“See ya, guys,” he waved, grinning at them both. “And good luck.”

He took off after that, quickly rising into the air, high above Gotham, speeding like a rocket.

Bruce watched him go till he disappeared between the dark clouds, and then he and Robin followed Tully.

Later in the Cave, after sending Robin to bed, Bruce researched Dominic Torres on his computer.

The man turned out to be a useful lead.

Three times already, Superman showed up on Thursday without fail. Once just leaving coffee, but he showed up, interacting with them indirectly.

Three times was a pattern Bruce couldn't ignore. He was expecting Superman to show up a week later again, most likely around the time he and Robin were catching a break.

He didn't.

Robin ate their food almost an hour ago already, they should've returned to patrol by now, but Bruce reluctantly agreed to wait a little longer in case Superman was running late.

It was unnecessary. Even if they moved from the rooftop, the alien would most likely find them anyway, just like he did when they were following Tully.

But Dick really wanted to wait, so they did. 

Bruce observed the streets below, but every now and then he would look up into the sky, searching for the red and blue streak.

He doubted the alien was coming. He wondered what made Superman not arrive. He seemed too stubborn to give up, especially after last time. 

Whatever made him stay away for once, Bruce hoped it was for a good reason, because otherwise how dare he make Dick attached only to disappoint the boy now?

This was why Bruce didn't want Superman coming here. Among other obvious reasons. He knew it would happen. He knew Dick would get used to the alien insanely fast and only get hurt later.

Bruce growled quietly under his breath. One time he indulged the alien, and he already made him regret it.

“Oh wow,” Dick gasped.

Bruce turned around, alarmed. “What?”

Dick was sitting on his favorite ac unit, phone in hand, eyes glued to the screen. Without taking his gaze from it, he walked to Bruce, plopping down next to him on the ledge.

“There is some kaiju in Metropolis,” he explained, showing the phone to Batman.

Robin had the browser opened on a page of the news station from Metropolis, broadcasting live from a chopper Superman's fight with a gigantic monster wreaking havoc in the city.

Or trying too, because currently it was busy attempting to swat Big Blue that flew around it like an annoying fly.

Bruce knew the feeling.

Well, at least Superman really had a good reason to not be in Gotham right now. Bruce guessed he was excused.

They watched the fight together.

“How come monsters like that never show up here?” Robin complained.

“They do,” Batman replied. “They just look like regular people.”

Robin looked up at him, eyebrow raised. “Okay, you didn’t just call guys like Joker or Clayface regular looking people.”

“The point is…”

“Yeah, yeah,” he waved dismissively. “Humans are the worst monsters, I know. Would be cool to fight a kaiju tho.”

Batman hummed. He would rather NOT have to fight a kaiju. Gotham had enough problems already, it didn't need more in the form of giant monsters.

Bruce would go bankrupt trying to rebuild the city after every attack.

The fight on the phone continued, and the monster managed to hit Superman, sending him flying towards the ground.

Big Blue hit the street with a loud bang - asphalt cracked, windows in the buildings and cars parked in the area shattered from the shock wave, and a big cloud of dust obscured the view of the tv camera.

The monster roared, already turning its attention to something else.

“That must’ve hurt,” Robin noted, the grip on his phone tightening.

“He’s fine,” Bruce assured him.

Not long after he said that, Superman flew out of the cloud of dust that didn't settle yet. His hair was messy, and he had dirt on his skin and suit, but otherwise he was fine.

Bruce didn't have any doubt he would be, he wasn't called the Man of Steel for nothing. Still, he felt relieved when Superman took to the sky again and slammed into the back of the monster's head. 

He told himself the relief he felt was for Dick's sake. 

The boy cheered while Superman fought the monster, stopping it from falling onto the building after he hit it.

It didn't take him long to finish after that. He punched the monster a couple more times, before finishing it with a blast of a heat vision - right in the heart, surgical precision. The creature probably didn't even feel a thing.

Superman gently lowered the now dead monster onto the ground, and landed next to it, bracing his hands on his knees and taking a deep breath.

“He looks a bit tired,” Dick pointed out and looked up at Bruce sadly. “I guess he won’t be joining us tonight.”

Probably not. 

Robin was obviously disappointed but understanding.

Bruce was a little disappointed too.

Superman broke the pattern. He showed up Friday night.

Dick was just done with his food and observing the sky when he let out an excited gasp. Bruce, perched on his usual ledge, didn't have to turn to know what caused such a reaction.

“Superman!” the boy shouted. When Bruce looked behind, Dick was already climbing Superman like a koala, grinning at him widely. “We saw your fight with the monster! It was awesome!”

Superman chuckled, blushing slightly. “Thanks!” He adjusted his arm around Dick to ensure he wouldn't fall. His other hand carried three cups of drinks. “It was a little hard, I didn’t want to punch him too much and send him flying onto a building.”

Batman turned his attention back to the street but kept listening to the conversation happening behind him.

“Did it hurt when it hit you?” Robin asked, concerned.

“Eh, not really.” The alien's voice was cheerful like always. “I’m pretty durable. It honestly felt like a tap.”

“So cool!”

Bruce heard them coming closer to him, and soon enough, Dick was jumping out of Superman's hold and sitting down next to Bruce on the rooftop’s edge, the cup of his favorite hot chocolate already in hands.

Superman sat on the other side of Bruce, their shoulders bumping together. 

“Hi, Batman,” he greeted, smiling brightly and offering him coffee.

Just yesterday, Superman was slapped by a monster ten times his size with such strength he made a crater in the ground. 

Today he was chipper and all perfect looking, not a single hair amiss, no trace of yesterday's tiredness in his body.

Bruce envied him.

“Evening,” he replied, taking the offered coffee.

Superman's whole body beamed.

“Hey, he speaks in something else than just growls!” he laughed, and on Bruce's other side, Dick giggled as well.

“Hmm,” he hummed back at both of them and took a sip of his coffee. It was as good as the last one.

Superman followed his example, his legs dangling over the edge of the building.

“How’s your case going?” he asked after a while.

Bruce glanced at him. The case was none of his concern, he didn't even know why Superman asked. 

On the other hand, he did help a little, finding out about Torres. Bruce supposed he could include him just this once as a reward.

A sort of thank you.

If he didn't, he had no doubt Robin was ready to babble all about it anyway.

“No new clues,” replied, a little amused by the alien's surprised expression. He must've expected dismissal or just silence. “I left a tracker on Tully and his buddy Torres. I’ll know if they make a move.”

“Nice,” Superman smiled, still dangling his legs, carefree. “Well, as you know, I fought a kaiju yesterday.”

Of course he knew. And Superman knew that Batman knew. Robin already told him.

“I’m fine, by the way, thanks for asking,” he added a moment after, bumping Bruce with his elbow.

Bruce grunted. “I know you’re fine.”

Superman grinned. “Because you believe in me?” 

Batman stared at him. “Because you’re back here to annoy me,” he deadpanned.

“Annoy you?” Superman scoffed. “I’m hurt, Bats,” he lamented, putting a hand to his heart. “I thought you enjoy my company!”

Bruce wasn't sure if he was amused or annoyed by all these theatrics. Dick certainly had fun, giggling.

“Why would you think that?” he grumbled at the alien.

“You stopped telling me to get out of your city,” he explained, making quotation marks with his hand and lowering his voice into a growl at the last part.

Robin cackled loudly, like a bark. “He got you there, B,” he noticed, leaning backwards to look around Bruce at Superman. “And hey, that was a nice bat growl impression.”

Superman preened. “Thank you!”

“Don’t call it a bat growl,” Bruce scowled at Dick, who stuck his tongue out at him in return.

He was surrounded by children.

Somehow, they managed to stay quiet for a while, letting Bruce enjoy his coffee in silence.

“Do you like it?” Superman asked out of nowhere, not even looking at him.

“What?” Bruce questioned.

“Coffee,” he elaborated, nodding at the cup in Bruce's hand.

Batman huffed. “It’s okay.”

Superman gave him an amused look. “You’re welcome,” he snorted and looked somewhere into the distance. “Someone is attempting a break in, four streets down.”

Bruce was already pushing the unfinished coffee into his hand before Superman finished speaking.

“Let’s go, Robin,” he told the boy. 

Dick put his empty cup down and jumped to his feet. “Sir, yes sir!”

Superman stayed behind.

“Have fun beating up people!” he called after them. “I’m heading back to mine. I hear an illegal car race happening. Better stop it before they kill someone or themselves.”

While swinging through Gotham to stop their crime, Bruce and Dick saw Superman flying away.

Bruce could've sworn the alien saw them too and smiled.

Tully and Torres became active at the start of the week. Short trips to and around Crime Alley, lots of calls both between each other and to other people.

When on Wednesday they ventured farther from their apartments, Batman was out of the Cave in a second, Robin hot on his heels. 

They caught up to the two and followed them to the old factory outside of town. Dick thought it was really cliche, but that was just how Gotham was. No wonder nobody was normal here.

They perched themselves on the catwalk of one of the tall chimneys, and observed the situation from there, probably looking like a pair of gargoyles.

Robin loved this part of the job, he wished someone was there to take a picture of them. They must've looked so cool.

Whatever was happening down on the ground, it was something big, because everyone looked excited and nervous both, running around with heavy boxes in hands like little ants whose anthill was just pierced with a stick.

Dick and Bruce didn't have to wait long for the big reveal.

Guns. 

Hundreds of them, ready to flood the streets of Gotham.

Bruce growled next to him, palms already clenched into fists. The guys on the ground were going to get a beating of a lifetime.

Dick felt sorry for them. Only a little bit, they were still bad guys and deserved it in the end.

Bruce texted Commissioner Gordon, letting him know what was going on so he could send people to collect the criminals.

“Get ready,” Batman told him, crouching lower, cape draped over him ominously.

Dick reached for his grappling gun. “Man, such a cool action and it’s not even Superman Day,” he complained.

He would love to see Superman fight regular criminals. How does he stop them without punching a hole in their bodies? He needed to know.

Next to him, Bruce immediately lost the coil in his body, and he looked at Dick. “Superman Day?”

Dick smiled sheepishly. “You know. The day when Superman comes hang around,” he explained.

Robin could feel the tiredness radiating from Bruce. “You named it?”

“Yeah,” he shrugged.

Bruce only sighed then jumped, gliding down like a bat straight from hell. 

Robin backflipped into action after him, but he was still swinging down on his grappling hook when the screams of panic and curses reached him midair.

Show time! 

Dick ended straight in the middle of the action, staying close to Bruce like he was always supposed to. He dropped a kick on one of the gun dealers and swung his staff at the bodyguard next to him before the guy could even turn and aim his gun at him.

It was chaos, but Robin and Batman knew how to navigate it despite bullets and batarangs flying all around, smoke bombs coming off, and dozens of men to keep track of.

Quite a lot of bad guys were already laying on the ground, knocked out, batarangs in their knees or with various broken bones - anything to immobilize them.

None of them were Tully or Torres, and when Robin took a look around after breaking the nose of one of the goons, he spotted someone running away.

The man glanced back, and Dick recognized Tully. He rushed after him, sliding into another goon's legs to knock him down like a bowling pin. 

He quickly escaped the fight, leaving Batman behind as he pursued after Tully who just disappeared between two buildings.

Robin followed, taking the corner and stopping right after, heart raising all the way up to his throat. Just a few feet ahead, Tully stood with an assault rifle aimed straight at him.

The man grinned. “Bye bye, little birdie.”

Dick stood frozen in place, watching as if in slow motion how Tully's finger curled around the trigger.

He fired, but none of his bullets reached Robin, stopped by an impenetrable wall of blue cladded muscles that appeared between him and Tully. 

Dick stared in surprise at Superman's red cloak that just began to settle over his back after his flight.

He appeared so quickly it took Tully a few more seconds to react and stop firing.

“Attacking a kid? Really?” Superman asked, sounding like a disappointed dad. He started walking towards Tully, stuck in place with fear and disbelief.

Superman stopped right in front of him. He raised his right hand and opened his fist, letting dozens of bullets drop from his grasp and fall to the ground with loud, clicking noises. 

“Have you no shame?” Big Blue questioned the stunned Tully again, before he snatched the rifle from his grip and twisted it in his hands.

He grabbed Tully next, taking him by the throat and slamming him onto the ground. He quickly used Tully's own destroyed rifle to tie his hands behind his back. 

Ignoring the twisting and cussing criminal, Superman turned to Robin with concern.

“Are you alright, Robin?” he asked, now sounding like a worried dad. He floated to Dick quickly and assessed him, hands hovering over his body, wanting to touch and search for any wounds.

“Yeah,” Dick assured, watching how worry escaped the alien's body. “How do you know I was in trouble? This isn’t Superman Day!”

Superman scratched the back of neck, looking a little shy.

“I keep an eye,” he said only.

A smile started to form on Dick's lips, when the distant sound of fighting reached his ears, and he remembered they were in the middle of a bust in!

“We should help Batman!” he told Superman, alarmed.

Superman titled his head, listening in.

“He’s handling himself,” he promised Robin and smiled. “But I wouldn’t mind kicking some ass with you.”

Dick grinned back. “Hell yeah!” he exclaimed, and they shared a high-five before Superman grabbed him and lifted into the air, returning him to the core of the battle.

Batman noticed them arriving together, but he was too busy to comment or question it, so he let it go for now.

Robin stuck to Superman’s side for the rest of the fight. Or rather Superman stuck to his, clearly protecting him from any stray bullets flying around.

To Dick's surprise, Superman was quite a capable fighter in hand-to-hand combat. He was no Batman or Alfred of course, but he was decent. And he was able to punch and kick without killing anybody. Although even a simple flick of his finger was enough to send someone flying. Something he eagerly demonstrated for Dick.

Robin was torn between fighting and watching Superman fight, it was really amazing!

All three of them were dispatching the last of the criminals when GPD finally arrived. With Commissioner Gordon barking orders, the officers began the arrest.

“Look like we'll have a busy night ahead of us,” Gordon joked to Bruce once he was sure his men knew what they were supposed to do. “Although most of them will have to spend a few days in hospital.”

Bruce glanced at one of the goons, moaning in pain next to their feet. Dislocated shoulder, missing teeth, definitely a concussion from a kick he received. 

“They resisted,” he explained, making the Commissioner chuckle.

Gordon's eyes moved from Batman's face to something behind him. “And you got unusual help, I see.”

Bruce turned, following Commissioner's gaze. A few feet away, Superman chatted with Robin balancing on one leg on his biceps, both of them grinning.

“I thought I saw him once or twice here before, flying around,” Gordon spoke again, nodding at the alien.

“I didn’t invite him, but he keeps showing up,” Bruce sighed.

“Pass my thank you to him and Robin,” Gordon asked, and Batman nodded in response, accepting the hand he was offered to shake. “Now get out of here before I arrest you too.”

Bruce gave the man a little twitch of his lips before turning to his two helpers.

“Robin, Superman,” he raised his voice, getting their attention. They both looked at him startled. “Let’s go,” he ordered, already walking away.

They quickly followed after him.

Bruce used his grappling hook to move through the factory and get to the Batmobile he left on the outskirts. Dick should’ve followed after him the same way, but not this time.

This time Superman gave the boy a lift, letting him fly on his back. Dick was ecstatic, throwing his hands into the air and shouting in delight whenever Superman flew a bit faster.

Bruce felt a squeeze in his chest. Dick used to be this excited about flying with a grappling hook, but actual flying seemed to be so much better.

When they reached the Batmobile, Superman picked Dick from his back and set him on the ground safely, the boy's hair a mess from flying, his whole body shaking from giddiness.

Batman approached Big Blue.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded.

Superman stared at him, brows drawn in confusion. “We always hang out once a week.”

“You hang out, I just deal with it,” Bruce corrected him. “But today isn’t…”

“Superman Day, I know.” Oh God, he was on this name too. “But I heard Robin was in trouble, so I came anyway.”

Bruce tensed, feeling a chill of fear crawling along his spine.

“He was in trouble?” he questioned the alien, quickly turning to Robin. 

He didn't look hurt, but that didn't calm Bruce a bit. Because something clearly happened. Something that forced Superman to fly at high speed from Metropolis to Gotham to protect Bruce's boy.

How did he not even notice that Robin was in trouble? He was supposed to protect him, but he didn't even see him sneaking away. 

“Are you alright?” he asked, stepping to the boy and placing hands on his shoulders.

“Yeah, Supes saved me,” Dick explained, looking ashamed for getting himself in trouble. But that quickly turned into excitement as he began recalling the situation. “You should’ve seen it, B! He just caught the bullets in his hand and then he twisted the guy’s assault rifle like it was a towel and used it to tie him up! And then we kicked ass!”

Robin turned to Superman, raising his hand into the air. The alien responded right away, and they shared a high-five.

Batman stared at both of them, but eventually only at Superman.

The alien notices, and the grin that Robin brought to his face faltered and disappeared.

“Hey, I had an eye on him throughout the whole fight, he was fine,” he assured Bruce nervously. “I wouldn't let him get hurt, I swear. But I understand if you-..."

“Thank you,” Bruce interrupted him.

Superman snapped his mouth shut. “What?”

“For saving him,” he elaborated, nodding at Robin who watched them both.

“Oh,” Superman made a small sound, still caught off guard. 

Then he smiled. But it wasn't one of his overly cheerful smiles. He was simply happy. Maybe a little touched. 

“No problem,” he replied eventually. “It’s my job.”

Maybe. But that was Bruce's kid. 

“We should be going,” he informed, heading to the car. “Come on, Robin.”

“Do we have to?” the boy whined.

“You’ll be unconscious for your tutoring if you stay up any longer,” Bruce reminded him, getting behind the wheel.

Robin groaned. “Fine. Bye, Superman!” He hugged the hero, and Superman returned the gesture. “It was nice fighting alongside you!”

Superman chuckled. “I can say the same, Robin.” He pulled away and ruffled the boy's already messy hair. “You’re a great warrior.”

Dick beamed. “You’ll come tomorrow too, right?”

“It’s Superman Day, can’t miss it,” he said seriously.

“We’ll be waiting,” Dick assured.

“Robin,” Bruce urged him. He didn't have to say goodbye for so long.

“Don’t mind him, he likes you,” Robin told Superman, completely ignoring the glare Bruce was sending his way.

Superman glanced at Batman, then returned his eyes to Robin. “You think?”

“He never says ‘thank you’,” he revealed to the hero. “Ever.”

“Robin,” Bruce repeated, louder this time. Superman was staring at him with a goofy smile.

“I’m coming, geez!”

When Robin was safely buckled up, Bruce quickly drove off, trying to get that annoying Superman smile out of his head.

Just like he promised, Superman arrived the next night too. Thankfully, it was much calmer and less eventful than the last. 

Bruce was hesitant to let Robin come on the patrol after the scare the boy gave him yesterday, but he decided to allow it. 

He already gave Dick berating for leaving his side during the fight, with Alfred backing him up and agreeing that not even catching the guy directly responsible for the gun shipment was worth Robin getting hurt. Or dead.

Dick apologized and promised to not do it again, so Bruce didn't ground him, just gave him some additional chores to do around the Manor every day.

He was getting soft. A year ago, he would've locked Dick in the house for at least a month for a stunt like that.

“So, I know you drink coffee, but I don’t know if you actually consume food,” Superman joked upon arriving and handing out everyone their drinks. Today he also had a plastic box with him and which he showed to Bruce. “I hope it’s alright?”

Batman only gave the box a quick glance. “Give it to Robin, he’ll eat it all in three seconds flat.”

The boy already ate, but a bit more food wouldn't hurt him. 

“Hey now, it’s for you too.” Superman got in front of him, floating in the air where Batman was perched on the ledge. He opened the box, and Bruce flinched out of instinct. “Look. The cupcake even has a tiny bat!” 

He pointed at one of the two cupcakes inside. True to his words, it had a wobbly drawn, black bat shape on the yellow frosting.

“It’s cute,” Superman chirped with a proud grin.

Bruce blinked at the cupcakes.

“What’s on mine?!” Robin asked, jumping onto the ledge next to Bruce and toppling over.

Bruce and Superman reached out for him at the same time, without even looking, and grabbed his hands. Dick hovered over the drop, one leg still on the ledge, securely held by the two of them.

It didn't affect his excitement at all. 

Bruce pulled at the boy's hand, and Superman let go, letting him drag Dick fully back onto the roof so he could look inside the box.

“Well, robins are harder to draw than bats, so I just went with your colors,” Superman explained, watching Dick take out his cupcake decorated with red, green and yellow frosting.

“Wait,” Robin said, pulling the pastry away from his mouth before the first bite. “You made those cupcakes?! By yourself?”

Superman nodded, puffing out his chest. “I used my Ma’s recipe.”

Bruce raised a brow at him. “Aliens bake cupcakes?”

“Oh, I was raised on Earth by humans,” Superman chuckled, still holding the box in front of Batman.

Well, that was something Bruce didn't expect to hear. It contradicted the official version Superman told in the past.

“B, you need to eat the cupcake now!” Robin insisted, his mouth already covered in colorful frosting from his own cupcake he bit the half off already. “Superman made it specifically for you!”

Bruce looked at the boy, then at the cupcake, and finally at Superman, who stared back with a hopeful expression.

“Fine,” he sighed, and Superman beamed at him just for that.

He took the cupcake out of the box, looking at it from all angles just to make Superman nervous a little.

And it worked, because the poor hero looked like he was ready to bolt straight out of the Earth's atmosphere from the smallest sign of disapproval.

Finally, Bruce bit into the pastry, hating how the frosting stuck to the skin around his mouth. He tried not to show it to not give Superman a heart attack.

Both Superman and Robin watched him chew. Bruce didn't feel that exposed even with dozens of cameras following him at public events. 

The cupcake was good. The frosting was a bit too sugary, but the rest was perfect, with little chocolate chips baked inside that melted on his tongue.

He wanted to immediately go for another bite, but he just wiped the frosting from around his mouth with his thumb instead.

“And?” Superman asked, floating all tense in front of him, his eyes following Bruce's thumb.

“It’s okay,” he revealed.

A gleeful smile appeared on Superman's face, and he fist pumped in triumph with an excited ‘yes!’. 

Bruce smiled at him before taking another bite of his cupcake. 

Superman eventually sat next to Robin and the two began to chat while Bruce watched over the city. 

He kept one ear on Gotham, the other at these two, listening to them listing their favorite movies and music. 

Dick was clearly excited to share his interests with someone new, and Superman knew enough about pop culture to entertain the boy. Much better than Bruce, who often missed a lot of new movies and music coming out and couldn't keep up with Dick most of the time.

He was glad the boy had someone to talk about it, even if it wasn't him.

They probably could talk like that for hours, and Bruce didn't even mind. But in the middle of the conversation, Superman suddenly stopped talking before informing them something was going on in Metropolis and he had to go.

Robin thanked him for the cupcakes and drinks, and the hero flew away, waving at them first.

“You smiled,” Robin said later when they were in the Batmobile on the way back to the Manor.

“What?” Bruce asked.

“You smiled earlier. At Superman,” he pointed out, grinning. “You like him.”

He didn't say anything back - not agreeing but not denying either. Too busy fighting off the blush from his face.

Superman didn't show up the next week.

They waited longer than they probably should. Longer than last time he didn't show up. They both looked up at the sky, but there was no sight of Superman.

Dick checked the internet to make sure there wasn't any emergency in Metropolis or somewhere around the world, but there was none.

No sighting of Superman in Metropolis, in Gotham, anywhere else in the USA, nowhere on the planet. It looked like he left it completely.

Eventually, Bruce sent Robin home and continued patrol alone. The boy was too distracted, too worried to help him.

Bruce was worried too, but he was able to ignore it for the sake of work. 

He knew Superman wouldn't ditch them without reason, he knew him too well by now to think so like the last time. So something must've happened. 

He didn't say it out loud to not worry Robin even further, but that was the only explanation for the hero's absence - not only in Gotham but everywhere.

When Bruce came back to the Cave at the end of the night, Robin was sleeping in the chair in front of the computer, covered with one of Bruce's spare capes, no doubt placed there by Alfred.

Bruce took his suit off and picked Dick up to get him to bed. The boy stirred immediately and yawned, pulling the cape tighter around himself.

“Did he come?” he asked sleepily. Bruce shook his head. “I wonder where he is.”

“Probably fine,” he assured the boy, carrying him up the stairs.

“Maybe we should check?” Dick suggested when the grandfather clock closed behind them.

Bruce looked down at him. “In Metropolis?”

“Yeah.” Dick nuzzled into his chest a little, and despite feeling worried for Superman, Bruce felt warmth spreading through him from the gesture. “I mean, he checks on us every week, it’s only fair.”

“Dick, he’s a grown man with enough powers to destroy the whole planet,” he reminded the boy. “He’s fine.”

He didn't know who he was trying to reassure at this point.

Dick hummed. “You’re probably right,” he admitted, yawning again. “Maybe he’s just taking a vacation. I just hope he’s fine.”

Bruce wished he could say something more to ease Dick's concerns, but there were no words that could do that, unless spoken by Superman himself.

“Me too, chum,” was all he said. “Me too.”

Bruce couldn't tell who was more relieved when Superman showed up next week - him or Dick. He certainly hid it better than the boy, who immediately ran to the hero before he even fully landed.

“Superman, you’re alright!” Dick threw himself at the man, wrapping his arms around Superman’s neck. “We missed you!”

Big Blue returned the hug immediately, and it didn't escape Bruce's attention that he clung to the boy more than the other way around.

“I missed you too, buddy,” the hero admitted, breathing in deeply.

Something was wrong, and Bruce's temporary relief turned back into worry again.

“Where were you?” Robin asked, letting go and landing back on the ground. Superman still kept his hands on the boy's shoulders. “There were no sightings of you in Metropolis. Or anywhere!”

“Sorry for worrying you,” the hero apologized, smiling sadly. It was so different from his usual, cheerful grins. “My Pa ended up in the hospital, I needed to be with him and my Ma.”

“Oh no. Is he okay?” Dick's voice was full of concern.

“Yeah. Heart attack.” He said it calmly, but his face was twisted with worry. With fear. Still, he made sure to reassure Dick all was well. “But he’s doing okay now. He needs to change his diet and lifestyle a bit, but he’ll live.”

Batman knew his boy long enough and trained him well enough to know Dick wasn't buying it. 

But disagreement and pressing wasn't something Superman needed right now. So Robin just smiled up at him. “I’m glad.”

He hugged Superman again, and just like the first time, the gesture was greatly appreciated. Maybe even more so, now when it had a different background. 

Bruce observed the interaction, seeing how Superman's body slowly lost its tension. Not all of it, but enough for the hero to smile a little like his old self when he and Robin pulled away.

“So how were things here?” he asked.

“Eh, same old,” Robin replied, trying to act normal as well. He turned to Bruce. “Right, B?”

“Right,” he confirmed, not taking his eyes off the hero.

Superman's eyes met his. Batman's cowl always did a good job hiding his gaze from people, but somehow Big Blue saw right through it, and not because of his x-ray vision.

“Did you miss me?” the hero asked with a teasing smile.

Batman just glared.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Superman chuckled.

They sat at the ledge of the building together, Robin and Superman filling in the silence with their chatter, catching up on things they missed since last week.

Bruce just listened. And watched.

He watched Superman.

At first glance he looked normal, but it was easy to notice subtle differences. How he didn't smile with his eyes, how his skin was a shade too different, how his voice wobbled here and there, or how he seemed to look at nothing every now and then.

When even Dick didn't find something to talk about, all three of them just looked at the city - silent and peaceful, as if respecting Superman's pain.

“I’m sorry about your father,” Bruce told him.

Superman blinked, returning from wherever his thoughts took him. He gave Bruce a small smile. “Thanks. I got really scared for a second.”

Bruce hummed. “I guess even gods are scared sometimes.”

“I’m no god,” Superman chuckled. “I told you, I got raised here, spent my whole childhood as a normal kid. I’m not that different from you.”

Bruce looked at him, really looked at him.

He didn't look like a powerful god or a proud superhero. 

He looked like a young man worried about his dad and mom. Like someone scared.

He looked human.

“So I see,” he replied in a soft voice.

Superman smiled, and his blue eyes with him.

Batman smiled back.

Despite Superman arriving last week safe and sound, Bruce still held his breath next Thursday, wondering if he would appear. There was no reason for him not to, unless his father got worse, which Bruce hoped didn’t happen. 

He and Robin were taking their usual break when, like clockwork, Superman descended from the sky, carrying drinks like always. 

And smiling like always. 

He looked better than last week, so things must’ve been going fine. 

“Supes!” Dick jumped off the ac unit and left his unfinished lunch behind so he could hug the hero. “How’s your dad?” he asked, looking up with his chin propped just below Superman’s chest.

“Better,” he replied with relief and tussled Robin’s hair before wrapping his arm around him. “He’s back home. The hospital was driving him crazy.”

“I’m glad.” The boy gave the hero one last squeeze to his middle before pulling away, grinning. “Hey, you want one sandwich?” he offered, running back to his lunch and picking up the sandwich he didn’t get to start yet.

Superman smiled, an expression of pure affection on his face. It stirred something inside of Bruce, seeing someone look at his boy like that. 

“Oh no, keep it, I wouldn’t want you to be hungry,” the hero denied politely. 

“Okay,” Dick accepted the answer without issue and returned to his lunch. 

Superman put their drinks away next to the boy, and his gaze settled on Batman, perched at the corner of the roof, always vigilant, cape ruffled gently by the wind. 

“Does he know how to relax?” the hero asked, pointing at Bruce with his thumb. 

Dick shook his head. “No, he’s always brooding.” He swallowed a bite of the sandwich before grinning. “It’s art.”

Putting the food away again, Robin grabbed the edge of his cape and swished it dramatically, covering half of his face with it. 

“I’m Batman,” he growled. 

Superman tossed his head back in a full body laugh, and Dick almost combusted from delight when he made his favorite hero react like that to something he did. 

Bruce rolled his eyes at both of them, watching them subtly but otherwise not reacting to their childish antics. 

“You should try!” Dick suggested after a curtain call. 

Superman picked the edge of his cape. “I think my cape isn’t long enough,” he replied regretfully. 

He still tried, recreating the cape sweep to the best of his ability and the limitation of his cape, all under Dick’s watchful eye. 

Bruce should've been offended that they were using him for their entertainment, but all he felt was endearment. Seeing the two of them bond like that, and over something so silly no less, made his heart beat a little faster. 

And he was just glad to see Superman having fun after what happened in his private life. He deserved a break like that, and who was better to provide it to him than the sunshine impersonation himself - The Boy Wonder? 

“No, no, you need to do it with more flare!” Dick insisted seriously, even stomping his foot down. He then proceeded to demonstrate how to do a proper cape swish. He was quite good at that, Bruce had to give him that. “More drama!”

Superman watched him with his utter attention. “Like this?”

He tried again, and although his cape was neither long enough nor positioned in the right place for that, he did a good job with what he had, quickly swooping the fabric with a wide wave, covering his face with it. 

“Yeah!” Robin cheered. “You got it!”

Superman grinned at the boy and repeated the action even better than the last time, slouching a bit for a better effect. “I am the night!” he growled, making Robin cackle like a maniac. 

“Wow, that voice was spot on!” Dick exclaimed, and apparently decided it was now going to be a competition for the best Batman impression, because he started doing various poses he saw Bruce doing before, and taught them to Superman.

The two had quite a fun time with that, to the point Dick forgot about his food or even the hot chocolate he loved so much. 

Bruce listened to them giggling and having fun for a while, but they were getting nowhere near being finished, and he and Robin still needed to patrol. 

Standing up from the edge, Bruce approached the two goofs, letting his cape cover his entire frame. Superman and Robin stopped giggling and dropped their own capes when they saw him approach menacingly. 

“Uh-oh,” Robin expressed, sharing a worried look with Superman. “Dad is pissed.”

Batman stopped in front of them. “Making fun of me, are you?” he accused with a hard, disapproving glare. 

“Come on, B, it’s just for fun,” Dick explained, and Superman nodded in agreement, looking sheepish. “You have to admit, you are a little dramatic,” he pointed out with a nervous smile. 

“If you’re done mocking me, we need to continue our patrol,” he told the boy. 

As he turned around, he swept his cape in a wide angle, causing it to swish through the air loudly. 

Robin and Superman gasped behind him.

“He did the thing!” Dick shouted.

“Ten out of ten!” Superman cheered.

Batman smiled to himself before jumping off the building in an equally dramatic manner, hearing Superman and Dick clapping.

Their lunch break got a little postponed next week thanks to a gang war, but Superman found them anyway, not intervening, but watching from the sky to make sure they didn’t get hurt.

They didn’t, and after making sure police took care of the criminals and got them in custody, the three of them headed to their usual rooftop so Robin could finally eat and rest - both not on his mind currently, as he was still buzzing with adrenaline rush, retelling the whole fight to Bruce and Superman as if they weren’t there to witness it. 

“Those were some sick moves out there,” Big Blue admitted to Robin, impressed, sipping on his coffee. “Did Batman teach you that?”

Dick shook his head, chest puffed out. “Nope, that’s all me!” he answered proudly. “Well, my parents, actually. They trained me in gymnastics.”

“What else can you do?” Superman asked with interest. 

A huge grin immediately appeared on the boy’s face, and now in addition to adrenaline, he bounced with excitement as well, always eager to show off. 

Looks like he isn’t going to eat tonight, Bruce thought to himself, drinking his coffee from his spot at the ledge.

Robin did a whole routine - front flips, back flips, cartwheels, standing on his hands and even on just one. He made a split, both on the ground and while doing a handstand. If he had a trapeze up there, he would've showed even more. 

Superman put his drink away just so he could clap enthusiastically when the boy was done. “That’s amazing!”

Dick beamed at the hero, his face blushing from both the exercise and the praise. “I can teach you!” he offered a little shyly.

“Really?”

Bruce could tell Superman was already on board. And Dick could too because he immediately got into position. 

“Yeah!” he confirmed. “Here, watch!”

Robin performed a simple cartwheel, nothing too complicated. Superman watched closely then repeated it perfectly. 

Dick was ecstatic. “Wow, you have talent!” 

Superman smiled, opening his mouth to thank him, but Batman cut in.

“He used his powers.”

Big Blue looked like a deer caught in headlights. 

“Snitch,” he hissed at Bruce, but a corner of his lips was a little elevated.

Bruce smirked and took a sip of his coffee. 

“Hey, not fair!” Dick grumped and glared at the hero. This was the first time Bruce saw Superman cover, all because eleven years old looked at him with disappointment. “Do it without powers,” the boy demanded. 

“Okay, okay,” he gave in and tried again, this time without powers.

He failed miserably. 

“That was pathetic,” Dick stated, looking like a teacher grading the paper of a promising student. 

Superman got the cape off his face where it landed after his failed attempt. He was blushing. “Hey, last time I did a cartwheel was in middle school during PE!” he justified himself. 

“Let me show you again,” Dick offered.

With each attempt, Superman was getting a little bit more successful, until he finally did the cartwheel right. Not with the elegance and swiftness of Robin, but he did it. He looked immensely proud of himself. 

“Hey, he got it B!” Dick called out to Bruce. “Look!”

Superman seemed a little unsure about doing it again, with Bruce looking directly at him to witness his cartwheel. But he did it, stumbling just a tad, but he successfully landed back on his feet. 

Both Robin and Superman looked at Bruce for his opinion, so he gave it to them.

He clapped slowly two times. 

Superman preened like he just got a standing ovation from a crowd at the full football stadium. 

“Wow, two claps!” Dick commented. “You must’ve really impressed him!”

Bruce snorted quietly, but with the way Superman almost got himself a whiplash when his head turned to glance at him, the hero definitely heard him. 

“Thank you!” He bowed deeply to Bruce, and when he straightened up, his whole face was grinning. “You’ve been an amazing, one-man audience!”

Batman snorted again, and somehow Superman’s already huge smile became even bigger. 

“Let’s try front flips next,” Dick suggested, excited. 

Superman’s face fell and paled.

“Crumbs.”

“You wanted it,” Bruce pointed out, picking up his coffee again. “Now suffer.”

That was going to be an amazing trainwreck. If only he had popcorn.

Superman sulked. “Thanks for the encouragement, buddy,” he sighed, but didn’t even try to excuse himself from the gymnastic lesson. 

Seated comfortably on the rooftop ledge, Bruce watched Dick teach Superman various moves, with more or less desirable outcomes. Even with some frustration here and there, the hero was having fun, and whenever he did something right, getting praised by the boy in the process, he looked really happy. 

But more often than not, he was making a fool of himself, clearly not used to gymnastics without his powers to help him out, even if he had flexibility and balance to pull all of that off.

When another failed attempt at a back flip ended with Superman on the ground, he finally accepted defeat, telling Dick he would leave the circus act to him. The boy was quite happy to be called superior at something compared to Superman, and didn’t shy away from gloating.

Superman only smiled at his antics, still laying on the ground, twisted in his cape falling over his head. When he looked to Bruce, realizing he was being watched, the hero blushed fiercely and smiled, bashful. 

He heard many words used to describe Superman since he first showed up. 

God. Monster. Hero. Beacon of hope. Man of Steel. Big Blue. Menace. Alien.

But none title nor word fit him right now more than one, when he laid there trapped in his own cape, peeking shyly at Bruce from under it, his face matching its bright, red color. 

Cute.

Batman was cornered, hidden in the dead end being shot at from angry drug dealers whose operation he just blew up with one, well thrown explosive batarang. 

They weren’t happy about that and already managed to curse at him and his family at least five generations back. 

Bruce needed to switch covers before they would shoot through the wall protecting him. They had awfully a lot of ammo on their disposal, they must’ve expected his arrival. 

Or they were just paranoid. He could respect that. 

Slipping a hand into the pouch of his utility belt, he picked a smoke bomb from among a stock of lollipops he carried with him for the kids, and threw it. 

The bomb exploded with a cloud of grey smoke and the dealers stopped shooting, temporarily stunned by the sudden appearance of the smoke. Bruce knew he only had a second, two at most, before they would start shooting again. He dashed through the cloud for another cover, grunting when a stray bullet hit him on the shoulder just as the criminals opened the fire again.

They continued shooting at the smoke cloud till it dissolved. Unaware where Batman was, they started looking around, searching for him in fear. 

Bruce was already above them, blood sipping out of the flesh wound. Grabbing a batarang in hand, he descended upon the dealers. He slashed the blade through the tendons of the criminal’s hand, making him drop the gun before plunging the batarang in the foot of the man right behind the first one. 

The dealer’s scream of pain only got louder when Batman kicked the first man and sent him flying into the pinned criminal, making both tumble, the trapped foot getting ripped open through the middle. 

Before any of the remaining men reacted to their two buddies going down in one go, Batman snatched a rifle from one of them and knocked his teeth out with the butt of it, successfully making him unconscious in the process. 

When they finally tried to stop him, Bruce was already on the move again, dismantling the gun into pieces and hiding behind another cover as he was shot at once more. Remembering the criminals' positions, he threw another smoke bomb right under his feet, and rolled out of the cloud, standing up quickly and throwing two batarangs, hitting the criminals on the hands. 

They dropped their rifles with shouts of pain, blades stuck out of their palms. One tried to pull it out, but all he achieved was rip his hand open.

Two down, two more to go.

The remaining criminals kept shooting, but Batman was already hidden again. He pulled out a stunting dart from his belt, but then there was a crush in the ceiling of the warehouse where the fight was going on, and Superman dropped from the sky between the two dealers.

He ripped their rifles from their hands and crumbled them like a piece of paper before punching both with the most innocent smile Bruce has ever seen. 

Bruce left his hiding spot to meet with the hero. 

Superman turned to him quickly. “You okay?” he asked with concern and looked around frantically. “Where is Robin?”

“It’s just me tonight,” Bruce answered. The two criminals with batarangs in their hands were moaning in pain somewhere on the ground. “And I’m fine.”

Superman looked at him from up and down. “You’re bleeding,” he noticed, his hand already halfway to Batman’s wound. 

“It’s just a scratch,” he assured the hero and reached for his communicator to see how far away Gordon and his men were. 

“Let me check?” Superman insisted, dropping his hand to his side. “Just in case?”

Bruce considered it. “No peeking,” he said eventually. 

“Of course,” he smiled, relieved to be allowed to help. 

His eyes flashed white as he examined Bruce’s wounded shoulder. 

“Well, doctor?” he asked when the hero’s eyes returned to normal. 

“You’ll live,” Superman replied. “But you’ll need stitches.”

Bruce huffed. “Figured.”

They could hear police sirens in the distance already. 

“Do you want me to give you a lift?” Superman offered. “Swinging around with an arm like this can’t be nice.”

“I’m fine.”

It didn’t even hurt, but that was only due to adrenaline still rushing through his veins. 

“It’s Superman Day, so I may as well stick around and help you,” Superman pointed out shyly, his big blue eyes shining with eagerness. 

Batman sighed. “Fine.”

With a happy grin, Superman picked him up into his arms before flying out the way he came through. Bruce would forever deny he made a surprised sound when the hero lifted him up like a damsel in distress and carried him out to the Batmobile. 

If Superman heard it, and Bruce was sure he did, he wisely decided not to comment about it. But he also did a terrible job at hiding how much it amused him, biting into his bottom lip to stop himself from smiling wider. 

The trip only lasted a few seconds, and Superman immediately let go of him. Bruce turned to his car quickly to not show the hero how embarrassed the whole situation made him feel.

“Nice ride,” Superman complimented, eyeing the Batmobile curiously. 

Bruce stood by the open door on the driver’s side. He hesitated for a moment. 

“Wanna try it out?”

Superman looked at him in surprise and a bit of hope on his features. 

“You mean…”

“I’m driving,” he quickly informed, already climbing inside. “You get into the passenger seat.”

“Sweet!” the hero exclaimed and floated to the other side, claiming the passenger seat, having a slight problem with his cape getting in the way. 

He clearly wasn't used to driving in a car while in the suit. Eventually, he got it figured out and buckled up, grinning with excitement, looking both at the car’s interior and through the window as Batman drew them through Gotham. 

Usually, the passenger seat was occupied by Robin, sometimes also by Alfred. Bruce wasn’t used to driving anyone else with him, and whenever he caught the glimpse of red and blue on his right, he almost couldn’t believe he had Superman in his car with him. 

A man who could fly around the entire planet faster than a human can blink, was happily seated in a car that could drive at 300mp/h at best. And it wasn’t even the speed Bruce was using now when driving through the middle of the city.

Keeping his eyes on the road, Bruce pushed the comm button on the wheel. “I’m bringing a guest, don’t come into the Cave,” he told Alfred.

Bruce could imagine the raised eyebrow of his butler’s face right now, as well as the talk they were going to have after Superman would leave. 

Batman never brought a guest to the Cave before. 

“Who are you talking to?” Superman asked. 

“A friend.”

The answer satisfied the hero. 

“Can you go faster?” he asked next, sounding like a little kid for a moment. 

Batman smirked and worked the pedals, quickly changing the gears to speed up as they entered the less dense part of the city. 

Superman cheered, looking through the window at buildings they dashed by, his whole face alight with joy. 

Bruce felt his chest filling with pride for putting that expression there. 

When they left Gotham behind, he let himself speed up a little bit more, but still within a reasonable limit. He didn’t want to get himself killed on a tree, although he doubted Superman would allow that. 

The hero didn’t question where they were going, he trusted Bruce completely and that made his heart do a little thump for just a second, before it calmed back again. 

They eventually reached the hidden entrance to the Cave. Superman looked a bit uncertain when Batman didn’t start to slow down before a rock wall, but he didn’t say anything, nor did he flee from the car. 

When the wall lowered quickly before the Batmobile, Superman exhaled with relief, and Bruce couldn’t help but smile at his reaction. 

Driving through a long tunnel, Bruce finally started slowing down till they reached the Batcave hidden under Wayne Manor. When he parked the car and they climbed out, Superman instantly began to look around with wonder, and Bruce realized he wasn’t even slightly afraid Big Blue would use his x-ray vision to notice what was above them. 

He trusted him.

He wouldn’t have brought him here if he didn’t. 

“Wow,” was the first word out of the hero’s mouth as he continued to spin around admiring everything. “I heard many rumors about your hideout, but this is incredible.”

“It will do,” Bruce replied and headed to grab his med kit. He hoped Superman knew how to use a needle, being invincible and never having to worry about stitching himself.

“So humble,” the hero chuckled, looking up. “Aww, you even have real bats here!”

Just as he said that, one of the critters dropped from the ledge and flew around the Cave with loud squeaks. 

Superman watched it, gasping when the bat landed on his chest. 

“B, look!” he called out, excited. “I think he likes me! Hey little guy,” he cooed, gently petting the bat between its ears with his finger. “You’re so cute and fuzzy,” he gushed with a baby voice. “Unlike your daddy there. But I bet all those pointy edges hide a soft, marshmallow inside.”

Bruce already found the med kit, but he pretended to look for it a bit longer, so he didn’t have to turn around with a blush burning on his face. 

Batman stepped into the dimly lit cargo hold of the ship that docked in Gotham’s Bay just three hours ago. They didn’t start unloading it yet, waiting for a green light, but that would never appear if Bruce had anything to do with it. 

Because ever since he got his hands on the copy of a manifest a few days ago while stopping well known smugglers from bringing drugs into the city, he knew he needed to investigate. 

Everything seemed legit at first, but when he compared the amount of cargo to the total weight the ship was carrying, it clearly didn’t add up. So obviously it was overlooked on purpose, no doubt with the help of a bribe. 

Or good old blackmail. 

Bruce left that to Gordon to investigate while he and Robin took care of checking the ship directly. 

Sneaking in was easy, the ship only had a handful of bodyguards on deck, and they weren’t particularly good at their job. Not enough to notice Batman and his sidekick walking around among the shadows. 

Robin finally joined him at the door, looking into the hold with him. Bruce nodded at the boy, not having to say anything. They both took out their flashlights and equipped with the copies of the list of numbers of each container there, they started to search for the one that wasn’t supposed to be there. 

Dick found it on his side of the hold, and Bruce quickly joined him, using a picklock to bust the two padlocks securing the door. Not even a minute later they laid on the ground by their feet, and Bruce opened the door. 

There were wooden boxes inside, and with the help of a batarang, Batman started opening each of them. The content varied, but one was sure, everything inside was illegal. Ivory and rhino’s horns, pelts, pieces of art that Bruce was sure were missing since the second World War. Human bones, antiques. 

Someone brought this for a very diverse market. Or an auction. 

When they opened the last box, bright green light illuminated the whole container, almost blinding them with its intensity. At the bottom of the box, on a cushion of simple straw, laid a bunch of glowing rocks. 

“What is this?” Robin asked in a whisper. He reached for the rocks, but stopped himself before Batman could do it for him. 

It was better not to touch it. With the green like that, it could’ve been either radioactive or poisonous. 

Bruce covered the box to not expose them to the glow. 

“I don’t know,” he answered. “Doesn’t look earthly tho.”

“We could show it to Superman,” Dick suggested, and Bruce nodded in agreement. 

They were supposed to see him later anyway, may as well ask him for help figuring out what those rocks were. 

But first, they waited for Gordon and CBP to show up and deal with the rest of the cargo. 

The Geiger counter showed the alien rocks were indeed radioactive, but not strong enough to cause immediate effect. Bruce put the smallest one into a ziplock bag and then into his belt, the rest he hid into a metal box and put it in his car. 

Gordon allowed him to take it with them out of all the cargo, since he didn’t want to deal with anything alien if he could help it. He trusted Batman to dig into the bottom of the mysterious package on his own. 

Bruce knew for a long while by now, that his job would’ve been a lot harder if he didn’t have Jim Gordon on his side. He was grateful for the man every day. 

He was restless while waiting for Superman. He felt like Dick the first few times the boy couldn’t wait for the hero to visit them. 

Bruce kept telling himself he felt like that because of the cosmic rock he was curious about, and not because of what happened last week, when Superman carefully, with gentle hands, patched his shoulder wound, blowing his cooling breath at it to ease Bruce’s pain.

Goddamn it, thinking about it even days after was making him blush. 

He was so distracted by his own foolish thoughts that Robin was the first one to notice Superman arriving. 

“Hey guys!” he greeted them, like always bringing drinks with him. 

He landed and took a few steps towards him when he stumbled with a gasp, almost losing his balance, coffee and chocolate falling from his hands and spilling on the ground. 

“Supes?” Dick asked, worried.

Bruce was already on his feet, rushing to help the man up, but when he got closer, Superman let out a pained moan and collapsed completely. Bruce froze in shock, both from what was happening, and from fear on Superman’s face when he looked up at him. 

“Are you-…” He struggled to talk, gasping for every breath. “-...carrying kryptonite with you?” he asked in a small voice. 

Bruce glanced at stunned Robin. “A what?” he asked, returning his gaze to Superman. 

The hero groaned, sweating from his sickly pale skin, his veins popped out and green. 

“I thought you trusted me now.” Superman whimpered. 

Batman’s brain finally kickstarted properly, connecting the dots. He reached for his belt and pulled out the green rock. 

Superman’s eyes grew large with pure terror, he was shaking with it. He was so scared he even flinched from Dick when he tried to console him. 

“It hurts you,” Bruce said. 

There was something to hurt the Man of Steel. A weakness. 

Just a few weeks ago he would’ve been happy to find out about it. He would’ve kept that green rock - kryptonite - on him all the time just to keep Superman away. 

Now he was horrified to even hold the very thing that was making the hero so sick he could barely move. And it looked wrong to see someone like Superman in a state like this. Someone so optimistic and hopeful being so scared. 

Bruce wished he never had to witness this, but in a way, he was glad he did. Because now he knew how to prevent it from happening ever again. 

He tossed the rock away with disgust, into the corner of the roof as far away from Superman as possible. 

The effect was immediate, the hero’s skin returned to normal, and he even managed to hoist himself back onto his feet, although still a little wobbly. But this time, he accepted Robin’s help when the boy went to assist him. 

“We wanted to ask you about it,” Bruce explained, hoping his regret for bringing the kryptonite was noticeable in his voice. “We found it two hours ago, shipped to Gotham in an unregistered container. A whole package, it’s in my car.”

Superman nodded, getting better with every second. Dick still held his wrist where he grabbed him to help him up. 

“What is this rock, Supes?” the boy asked, worried. 

Superman took a deep breath. “Kryptonite. Part of my planet. It makes me sick, removes all my powers.”

Dick kept looking at the hero with concern. “You okay now?”

Superman smiled and ruffled the boy’s hair. 

“I will be,” he promised. He already looked better, but the picture of his terrified face was branded in Bruce’s memory forever. “The longer and closer I am to it, the more time I need to recover.”

“Any idea who might’ve brought it to Gotham?” Batman asked him. Even the smallest clue could be helpful. 

“Well, I wouldn’t put it past Luthor,” he answered with a shrug. Too nonchalant for Bruce’s comfort. “He hates my guts.”

He nodded. One name was a good way to start. And he had more to work on back in the Cave. “I’ll see what I can do to track where the kryptonite came from,” he swore solemnly. 

Superman was a little stunned by his dedication. “You don’t have to,” he assured with a smile. “It’s not even my city.”

Batman’s mind was already made.

“I don’t want anything that can hurt you here,” he snarled and headed to the kryptonite still laying there, glowing with its toxic light. “And if someone here plans to get rid of you, I need to know.”

Whoever brought it here, Bruce was going to find out and make them pay. And ensure no kryptonite will ever show up in his city. 

Superman watched him put the kryptonite back in his utility belt. When Bruce looked up, the man’s face was so open and vulnerable it made Bruce out of breath like he just ran across the whole Gotham.

“Thanks, Batman,” the hero said quietly, almost a whisper, a grateful smile playing on his lip. 

There was a lump in his throat that Bruce swallowed with struggle. He nodded back at Superman, not ready to speak just yet. 

“You may want to keep it hidden in lead,” the hero advised. “It can give you radiation poisoning.”

Bruce nodded again. “I’ll keep that in mind,” he replied, ignoring how rough his voice sounded.

Next week, Bruce waited in their usual stop, drinking coffee and waiting for Superman to show up.

The investigation was done. At least the most nagging part - finding out who smuggled kryptonite to his city.

He spent almost every waking hour of the day tracking the shipment, from the moment it arrived in Gotham, to whatever place it came from.

He interrogated the captain of the ship, then the one that allowed the shipment to arrive without control. 

He only did it out of greed and only this one time, paid by a big shot gangster. He still went into GPD custody for his crime.

Bruce kept digging after that, grabbing small goons to interrogate, searching offices of Gotham politicians and businessmen he got pointed to. 

One of them, Robert Petros, was the one that orchestrated the shipment, bringing valuable items to sell at the auction he was going to organize for all the richest folks in Gotham. 

Bruce didn't remember getting an invitation, but he wasn't sorry about that.

The auction wasn't going to happen now, but Petros also wasn't going to jail unfortunately. Bruce couldn't gather evidence on him, only statements of his own people.

But now he knew to keep an eye on him, and Batman would get him one day.

Superman arrived on time, landing right next to Bruce, who handed him the second cup of coffee he had with him.

The hero was surprised by the gesture to the point it took him a while to take the offered cup.

Batman hoped he wasn't going to ask questions about it, because he didn't have an excuse for why he brought the coffee. Apart from wanting to do something nice for Superman.

Superman accepted it without a word, just a smile.

“Where’s Robin?” he asked, looking around.

“Caught the flu,” Bruce answered. “He stayed home.”

The poor boy was so bummed he didn't recover before Superman Day, but Bruce promised to tell him all about what he and Superman were up to.

It was no surprise Superman was bummed too. “Tell him I wish him a fast recovery.”

Bruce nodded. “I have good news.”

Superman perked up. “Oh?”

“About that kryptonite from a week ago,” he elaborated.

Big Blue visibly tensed. “I’m all ears.”

“It’s not Luthor. Or anyone trying to take you down,” he revealed, and it immediately made Superman relax again. “It’s just one of Gotham’s elites wanting a fancy space rock to sell.”

Idiot didn't even know what he almost got in his possession. And it would be best if it stayed that way.

Superman laughed with relief. “That’s good,” he said, grinning.

Bruce already felt bad for ruining it.

“But I have bad news as well.”

Predictably, the hero's smile fell. “Oh, that’s not good.”

“I tried to track where he ordered it from, but nothing came up,” he explained. “I’ll dig deeper but for now, I don’t know where the kryptonite came from, if there is more of it, and if whoever had it knows you’re vulnerable to it.”

Superman nodded in understanding. “Maybe that was all of it,” he suggested. Bruce wished he shared his optimism. “And hey, thanks anyway. For checking it out.”

Batman didn't say anything back. He gave the hero a signal with his hand to stay and walked from him to a box he left on the ac unit earlier.

He carried it to Superman.

“Here.” Bruce extended his hand with the box towards him, not having to tell the hero what was inside. The lead it was made of was an obvious clue. “It should go to you. Keep it where it’s safe and won’t harm you or destroy it, your call.”

Superman just stared at the box for a long while, not even attempting to take it. When he looked up and their eyes met, the other man smiled.

“Then maybe you should keep it,” he said, pushing the box back towards Bruce’s chest where his heart started to race. “It won’t hurt me when in your possession."

Bruce couldn't breathe. Superman was giving him the only thing that could hurt him. He was trusting him with it despite how Batman treated him at the beginning.

He trusted him.

Bruce clutched the box tighter, his heart feeling too big for his chest. 

“It won’t,” he swore, and he meant it. 

There was no doubt about that on Superman’s face, sporting a radiant smile.

“Besides…” he started, his expression changing into more teasing. “It's good if you keep it in case I ever go rogue.”

“Will you?” he deadpanned.

“I don’t have such a plan in the near future, but who knows what will happen,” he answered with a shrug.

Bruce snorted.

“How about I keep one,” he offered. “That’s all it takes, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then you destroy the rest,” he decided. The less kryptonite around the better. “So it won’t fall into the wrong hands.”

“Alright,” Superman agreed. “Thanks again, B. For coffee too.”

Bruce fought the urge to avoid eye contact. “My pleasure.”

“How do you even know how I take it?” the hero questioned.

Bruce just smirked, making Superman roll his eyes.

“Alright then, keep your secrets,” he huffed. 

“Did you just quote Lord of the Rings at me?” Bruce asked.

“Maybe,” Superman smiled innocently. “You ever watched it? Didn't take you for a fantasy fan, Bats!”

“No.” He didn't really have time to watch such long movies with the life he lived. “But Robin sometimes answers my texts with memes.”

Half of their conversation on the phone consisted of Bruce writing something and getting a picture in return.

“Hey, we should watch it together then,” Superman proposed, floating up in his excitement. “Just you and me. It’ll be fun.”

Bruce was surprised how much he didn't mind that idea. He just couldn't imagine how they could watch a movie together. He couldn't exactly invite Superman to the Manor. 

“What about Robin?” he asked, unable to say direct ‘no’. 

Superman loved spending time with Dick, but right now, he looked like the idea of the boy joining them was the last thing he wanted.

Bruce's heartbeat picked up.

“Well, he can come too if he wants,” Superman decided finally, still not sounding enthusiastic.

The flutter in Bruce's stomach was the next symptom to appear.

“Hmm.”

“That’s all the answer I’m going to get, is it?” Superman asked, amused.

“You told me to keep my secrets,” Bruce reminded him slyly.

The hero chuckled. A warm sound that hit Bruce straight in the heart. “That I did,” he tenderly confirmed.

Dick recovered for the next Superman Day, and couldn’t stay still the whole day, acting like a junkie without his dosage of drugs. He drove Alfred crazy during tutoring, constantly being distracted by his phone where he was making sure Superman didn’t go MIA again. 

Bruce should’ve scolded the boy when he returned from work and Alfred told him about it, but that would be hypocritical of him. 

Because he didn’t do much work today due to being distracted as well - Superman’s invitation to watch a movie together, just the two of them, constantly on his mind. 

He kept thinking of ways to make it work without revealing their identities to each other. Superman didn’t wear a mask, but it was obvious he had a secret life somewhere, and Bruce didn’t want to force him to reveal it. 

To Bruce, revealing a secret identity required even more trust than giving your life away into someone’s hand. 

Something Superman already did. And Batman too. Because he trusted this all-powerful man to not hurt him or his kid. 

Revealing their identities to each other was a natural next step in their relationship. Only Bruce never confessed it to anyone outside of his closest circle, consisting of only two people. And Dick only found out in the first place because he was too stubborn and sneaky for his own good. 

Telling Superman he was Bruce Wayne was a huge decision to make. And kind of scary. 

The hero was getting late. The moment he didn’t show up on time, Robin became restless. Half an hour later, there was still no sight of Big Blue, and Bruce hoped nothing bad happened or that he didn’t push him away himself by not agreeing to see the movie. 

“Man, I missed him last week and now he’s getting late,” Dick complained, perched next to Bruce on the ledge, aggressively chewing on his sandwich.

Just then, they heard a clearing of a throat.

Batman and Robin both turned immediately, hands hovering over weapons. But there was no criminal who sneaked up on them. Or at least he didn’t look like one, but like a normal civilian. 

Which shouldn’t have happened. Bruce secured the roof before making it their lunch spot. Even locked the door leading to it from inside the building, installing a lock on it that he was able to open remotely in case emergency responders needed to go up there. 

The only way up to the roof was either by climbing or flying. No regular human should be able to get onto it. 

“What the hell are you doing here?” Batman snarled at the man, just standing there with hands in his pockets. 

The stranger shrugged innocently. “It’s Superman Day.”

Bruce’s brain screeched to a halt. 

“How do you know our thing with Superman?” Dick asked suspiciously, then a little more excited. “Do you know him?”

“Well, of course I know him. He’s me,” the man chuckled, patting his chest before using the same hand to wave at them, as the familiar looking smile appeared on his face. “Clark Kent, nice to meet you.”

Dick was already bouncing in place, ready to rush and Superman - Clark - to greet him and just be his usual, worshiping self. 

Bruce just stared. 

“Wow!” Dick gasped in wonder, and just like Bruce predicted, he darted towards the man but stopped suddenly halfway there. “Wait, how can we be sure it’s really you?”

Good boy, Bruce couldn’t help but think. Stay careful. 

Superman - Clark - raised himself a few inches above the roof, floating. In addition, he pulled aside the collar of his shirt, revealing his blue suit underneath.

“It's you!” Robin threw himself at the hero, giggling and embracing him tight. “Or someone who has the same powers and looks really similar.” When Dick was back on the ground, he took a step back and looked at Superman - Clark - closely. “You look so weird.”

Bruce had to agree. Somehow Super-... Clark managed to look much different than his superhero self without even trying much. His hair was messier, changing the shape of his head. He wore a pair of dorky glasses that covered half of his face, dulling the bright blue of his eyes. 

Standing there, he looked nothing like a confident hero. He was actively making himself look smaller - slouching, drawing his shoulder closer to his frame. He didn’t have to do it in front of them, but he did, because it already ran deep in his blood. 

And it was working. 

If Bruce passed someone like that on the street, he would’ve never assumed it was Superman. Maybe if he had time to look at him longer, analyze every characteristic tick that everyone has and isn’t always able to control. A direct comparison, two photos - one of Clark, one of Superman - laid next to one another, would definitely help make the connection too.

If anyone would even think to suspect some awkward, dorky guy to be the strongest man on Earth.

“How so?” Clark asked the boy. 

It was so strange to have a different name associated with him now. 

“I'm just not used to the glasses and lack of the cape,” Robin explained, scrunching his nose at Clark’s baggy clothes that helped hide his muscles. 

Superman chuckled. “You'll get used to it. I'm sure I would react the same if you showed up in civilian clothes. You don't have to, of course,” he quickly assured. “I just wanted to tell you who I am. You're my friends, I know I can trust you, but there is no obligation to return it.”

Bruce’s heart began to race. Superman laid himself bare in their hands - he gave Bruce the means to kill him, he revealed his identity, trusting him not only with his own life, but the lives of his parents he cared for deeply. 

All while Bruce was still stuck speculating if he should agree to see a movie with this man. 

God, he was pathetic. And a coward. 

“We'll keep this a secret,” Dick swore. “Cross my heart and hope to die!”

Clark’s face immediately softened. “Thank you, Robin.”

“You’re welcome! It's nice to meet you, Clark!” Dick responded with a bright grin and an extended hand. 

Superman shook it eagerly, and when he let go, he focused solely on Bruce for the first time since he arrived. He became nervous seeing Batman just standing there, quietly observing. 

“B?” he asked, nervously fixing his glasses, the action causing a flutter in Bruce’s stomach. 

He stepped from the ledge, approaching Superman and Robin slowly. 

“You're not what I expected,” he commented upon standing in front of Clark. From up close, he could notice more similarities between this image, and that of Superman.

“What did you expect?” 

He honestly didn’t know. He didn’t really think about who Superman was outside of his suit. He was just Superman to Bruce. 

“More… green,” he finally settled on one, cringing internally. 

More green? Really, Wayne?

Dick snickered.

Clark laughed. “I’m not a Martian!”

Bruce felt his face getting hotter under the cowl. “Martians don’t even exist.”

“Oh yeah, they do,” Clark assured before looking a bit uncertain. “Well, they did once.”

He didn’t just casually confirm Martians existed. He just didn’t. 

Robin saved Bruce from continuing this awkward conversation. What the hell was happening to him? He was usually more composed and in control. Meeting Superman as his civilian self shouldn’t have thrown him off the loop so hard, but it did. 

And Bruce wasn’t sure what hit him harder, the trust or the fact the man was just insanely adorable and cute. Even more so than as Superman. 

“So you just have a normal job and all that?” Dick questioned in confusion. 

“Yup.”

“You’re an alien and a superhero and still decided to do a normal job?” Now Dick was fully flabbergasted. 

“I like my job,” Clark explained simply. “I like being human. Makes me feel normal and reminds me of what's important.”

“And what’s that?” Bruce asked. 

Clark looked at him with a smile. “That humanity is the greatest value of all, and we should cling to it. No matter how hard life is.”

He looked at Bruce with such intensity and understanding that for a moment, Bruce was sure Clark already knew who he was. Knew how hard Bruce clung to his own humanity every night and every day. 

But he didn’t know. Superman wouldn’t betray his trust like that. He could just feel Bruce’s struggle. Because despite being a literal alien, somehow Clark was more human and had more empathy than many actual humans. Especially in this godforsaken city. 

Batman almost took his cowl off right here and there. 

“Pff,” Dick snorted all of a sudden. “I would rather be a flying alien with a laser in my eyes.”

Bruce glared at him, but Clark only chuckled. 

“Well, that’s pretty cool when you put it like that,” he agreed with the boy, before looking at Bruce again and smiling. 

Bruce finally knew what he had to do for their movie night to work.

Bruce stepped out of the elevator straight into the Daily Planet bullpen like he owned it and headed straight to his destination, wherever it might be. He knew soon enough he would be approached by someone, people already noticed him, his arrival changing the atmosphere in the room instantly. 

They began to talk. 

“Holy shit, it’s Wayne!”

“Someone tell Perry!”

Perfect. 

He was halfway through the bullpen when a man blocked his path, fumbling nervously in front of him. 

“Mr. Wayne, what a pleasure!” he began. “Perry White, editor-in-chief. How can I help you?”

“I’m looking for one of your reporters,” Bruce answered, already scanning every desk in the room. But none of the eyes looking back at him were the lovely shade of blue he was looking for. “Clark Kent.”

Tracking Clark to Daily Planet wasn’t hard, it took a minute, and Bruce briefly looked at every info surrounding the man under the Superman suit. He expected a few forged documents, but everything was surprisingly legit, from birth certificate to medical and dental history. At least up until Clark was fifteen when he suspiciously stopped visiting doctors. 

If someone was to connect the dots, Clark’s whole history in the legal system would’ve thrown them off. It certainly did Bruce. If he didn’t know who Clark really was already, he would’ve waved off the visual similarities between him and Superman as coincidence.

“Oh no,” Mr. White paled. “Did he write an article about you? I must assure you, Mr. Wayne, whatever he wrote, has no connection to the Planet-...”

“I’m not here with a complaint, it’s a private matter,” Bruce explained, but that didn’t calm the man in the slightest. “If you could point me to his desk?”

“Of course,” he agreed and stepped to the side. “This way, Mr. Wayne.”

Perry led him to the desk in the very corner, with a view of the city outside. A little plate on the desktop had Clark’s names written on it. 

Bruce dismissed Perry and walked around the desk to sit behind it while waiting for Clark. He entertained himself by looking at things littering the desktop, aware of the eyes of other reporters observing his every move like hawks. 

Especially one from the woman whose desk was right next to Clark. 

Clark’s desk was a mess. Littered with papers, pens, and notes. A little plant stood in the corner, looking well taken care of. His laptop was open and on, and Bruce couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw the Windows XP pipes screensaver on it. Who the hell still used that system? 

Maybe it was just a downloaded feature, but when Bruce tapped the touchpad and screensaver disappeared, the Windows XP was indeed here, with a picture of some farm as a desktop. 

Bruce rubbed the frown off his forehead. Was buying a MacBook as a gift on the first date too much? 

Next to the old laptop was a framed picture. Bruce took a closer look at it, recognizing younger Clark with what he assumed were his parents, standing in front of the same farm featured on his desktop. 

They looked like good, kind and hardworking people. No wonder Superman was this cheerful and optimistic hero, with an upbringing like that. 

Bruce envied him a little. 

He leaned back in the chair, folding his hands in front of him, when the woman from the desk next over approached. 

“He’s copying himself documents in the utility room,” she informed him, leaning against Clark’s desk. She didn’t look intimidated by his presence like the rest of the room, just curious. “He should be back soon.”

Bruce smiled and stood up to greet her properly. “Thank you, Miss…”

“Lane,” she introduced herself, offering him her hand. He leaned down and kissed it. “Lois Lane. I’m Clark’s friend.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Miss Lane,” he replied, letting go of her palm. “I would introduce myself, but I have a feeling you know my name.” 

Miss Lane chuckled. “I certainly do.”

“I had the pleasure of reading your articles, Miss Lane,” he told her. He wasn’t one for small talk, but Miss Lane certainly wasn’t an average person. “Love your work.”

“Really?” she sounded doubtful. “Didn’t know a Gotham boy like you read the Daily Planet.”

“I read any newspaper with good stories, and you happen to write good ones,” he explained truthfully. “Marvelous insight on the subjects, amazing wording and structure. I can tell why you won a Pulitzer.”

“You’ll make me blush, Mr. Wayne,” she said, but there was no hint of color on her perfect face. She knew her worth, and she didn’t need some rich guy to sing her praises. 

Bruce quite liked her. She had claws. 

Just then, Clark finally appeared, going through the pile of documents in his hands, but when he reached his desk and raised his head, he stopped dead in his tracks. 

“Wha-…” he stumbled on his own words, looking from Bruce to Miss Lane. “Lois-...”

He was completely confused and that made him even more adorable. 

“Hey, Smallville. You have a guest,” Miss Lane informed him casually before stopping right next to him. She punched him on the arm and Clark squealed. “Why didn’t you tell me you know Bruce Wayne personally?!” she hissed at him accusingly, not even trying to hide what she was saying from Bruce. 

“I… don’t. I think,” he explained himself, rubbing at his punched arm while staring at Bruce in disbelief. “Um, hello Mr. Wayne.”

“Hello, Clark,” Bruce said back and walked around the desk to join the two reporters. “Don’t worry, I won’t take a lot of your time. Just came to tell you I’ll take you on that proposition.”

Clark’s face scrunched in confusion. “Proposition?”

“I would like to watch Lord of the Rings trilogy with you,” Bruce revealed simply, stopping him from overworking his poor, confused brain. 

“Oh,” he expressed, still not getting it. Then realization finally hit him, and Bruce smirked at the look of pure shock on the man’s face. “OH!” he repeated dumbly, staring at Bruce with mouth opening and closing. When he finally connected all the dots, a blinding smile stretched across his face. “Oh,” he sighed blissfully. 

Bruce felt his heart thumping wildly from that mesmerized look on Clark’s face. 

Miss Lane wasn’t as impressed. “Can you sputter anything else?” she asked with a raised eyebrow, embarrassed for her friend. 

“Y-yeah, that would be great,” Clark used actual words this time, grinning and clutching the papers to his chest. He almost ripped them apart. “Yeah, I would love to. But what about…”

“Dick will have to wait for a different chance to watch a movie with you,” Bruce told him with a flirtatious smile. “I want you all to myself.”

For a second, Clark seemed to grow an inch or two all because he almost let himself float up to the ceiling in joy.  

“Okay,” he whispered, his cheeks flushed red, eyes sparkling so bright even his glasses couldn’t dull them. 

“It’s a date,” Bruce confirmed, patting Clark on the shoulder. “We’ll see each other later like always, yes?”

It was Superman Day after all. 

Clark nodded enthusiastically, grinning like a lovesick fool. “Yeah, definitely.”

Bruce returned his smile. “See you later, Clark.”

Walking past him, Bruce brushed his hand against Clark’s hip, making him jump a little in surprise. Clark’s eyes followed him all the way to the elevator. 

Waiting for it to arrive, he could hear Miss Lane interrogating Clark, and not in a gentle way. He heard her punch him again. How she didn’t break her hand on his shoulder was a miracle. 

“What the hell, Smallville?!” she shouted. “Not only you know Wayne, you are going on a date with him?!”

“I honestly don’t know how it happened!” Clark justified himself. 

“Oh bullshit!”

Bruce knew how it happened. With Superman being a persistent, annoying, but lovable man.