Chapter Text
"Alfred, I don't want to talk about it."
"Master Bruce, if you don't wish to share it with me, that is fine, but if you keep acting this way I'm afraid that the kids will not want to associate with you."
Bruce was aware that Alfred tried to say it in the most gentle way possible. Of course, his children didn't have to be basketball players, or they didn't have to be on his team, but they loved the game and loved playing together. Bruce, however, was being a major asshole and pushing them away.
"Fine, you want to know so bad?"
"I am all ears, master Bruce."
"Clark Kent has a crush on me."
Alfred raised his brows, then he smiled and gave Bruce a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Master Bruce," he muttered "are you scared of Mr Kent's feelings because you potentially reciprocate them?"
"Alfred, that is ridiculous. I barely know the guy, he's also in a weird situationship with his ex wife. He called her while we were having dinner and very casually informed her he had a crush on me." Bruce was frustrated and was throwing his hands around while explaining what happened, and as much as Alfred respected the young man in front of him, he had to put a lot of effort into suppressing any laughter.
"I have to ask you a question here, master Bruce."
"Go on."
"Well, I assume your plan here is to act like the big bad wolf and scare off Mr. Kent. You want to show him that you have an ugly side to test if his feelings are real, or if you are just another common celebrity crush to him." Alfred then paused and made eye contact with Bruce. "I can't help but wonder, if Mr. Kent passes your little test, what will you do?"
Bruce didn't dare answer that. Truth be told, he had been running on autopilot ever since yesterday; he truly was repulsed by the idea of someone liking him. He didn't want to hurt Clark, he was sure the man was kindhearted and all, but he was way too close for Bruce to be comfortable with the fact that he had a crush on him. Another unfortunate thing was the fact that Clark was kind of Bruce's type, the man was bigger than Bruce, he had curly hair and he wore stupid nerdy glasses. Clark was also able to freely manhandle Bruce, which was one of the hottest things to happen in his life. Maybe if they weren't opponents, Bruce would've seduced him further and hooked up with him. Those were thoughts for some other day.
"Master Bruce, you don't have an answer?"
Bruce sighed. "I suppose I don't. I just... don't want him to be interested in me in a romantic way."
"Has he made a move?"
"No."
"Has he flirted?"
"Not really, there was more flirting from my side."
Alfred frowned.
"I fear you are contradicting yourself, master Bruce."
"Maybe."
"So is it safe to assume that maybe you are at the very least attracted to Mr. Kent?"
Bruce's cheeks were tinted red. He wanted to slam his head into the table and not look up at Alfred ever again, the old man probably loved to treasure hunt Bruce's emotions. It was like a teenage son going through puberty and his very concerned father, and Bruce hated that dynamic between them very much. He didn't even want to imagine what it was like for Alfred, struggling to deal with this kind of stuff almost every other month.
"If I say yes, will you leave me alone?"
"We'll see about that."
"Alfred..." Bruce started whining, "you don't get it, we should not be attracted to each other! That is wrong!"
"Oh, boy, I will give you a piece of advice. I know you've been hurt, I know you may not think highly of yourself, but you have so many qualities that young man might be into. Give it a try, this once."
Bruce leaned back in his chair. He was unsure. How was he even supposed to approach this? "Alfred, if it works out, and Clark and I end up being, I don't know, a thing, please promise that you will castrate him for me if he fucks up."
"That might be a little too vulgar, but very well, sir, I'm glad that you are being more open-minded and are approaching this a little more optimistically." Alfred smiled. "However, you owe your children an apology. Maybe don't overwork them and bond more with them."
"I will apologize at dinner..."
"Very well!"
Alfred stood up and left. Bruce was alone with his thoughts yet again. Calling the administration and telling them to change the arrangements to what they were originally was honestly pointless and was going to be very embarrassing. Either way, Bruce was absolutely fucked. If word got out that he did that, Clark would hate his guts. Not that he really minded, Clark SHOULD hate his guts, Clark should be aware that Bruce Wayne is fucked up man.
"Are y'all done here?"
Bruce looked up, Jason, he was holding something.
"What is that?"
"If you and that Clark Kent guy were fucking you could've just told us." Jason threw a crumbled up newspaper.
On the first page, with big bold letters:
EX-BASKETBALL STAR BRUCE WAYNE IS DATING METROPOLIS ROCKETS' CAPTAIN CLARK KENT
Underneath was a picture of Bruce and Clark at the pizzeria, taken from an angle where it looked as if Clark was leaning for a kiss.
Bruce's eyes shot wide open, and he could feel his entire body sweating, his heart beating faster. His head was spinning all of a sudden, and he felt sick.
"Like, you know we don't care who you sleep with, you are a grown man. Clark seems pretty chill and- Bruce?" Jason took a quick step to the older man's chair. "Bruce, are you alright?"
Was he alright? Bruce had no idea on what planet he was right now, his head was spinning so fast, he was glad that he was sitting, or else he would've fainted.
"Bruce!" Jason yelled out. "How many fingers am I showing you?"
No answer.
Was he having a panic attack? Was he dying? Bruce didn't know. All he knew was that he was about to close his eyes and he had no idea when they would open.
"Clark, I am going to rip you apart. When I asked if there were paparazzi, you were very sure there weren't. BUT GUESS WHAT?!"
"Lois, I'm so sorry, I never thought they would take pictures of us- especially in such an abandoned area-"
Lois pinched the bridge of her nose. "You shouldn't be apologizing to me, you have to call Wayne and ask him how both of you are going to approach this piece of news. And by God, do not let any news outlet find out you have feelings for him!"
"Ok, ok! I will call-"
"Good. I am serious, Clark."
Clark was over at Lois' apartment again. He had to help out with setting up things in their older son's new room. Once he entered the door, he was greeted by a very pissed off Lois. And if there was one thing Clark knew, it was that a mad Lois was a dangerous Lois.
Honestly, seeing all the articles spreading the pictures of him and Bruce didn't really faze him; he wasn't upset about himself, but he wondered how Bruce felt. And then some worry arose in him, what if Bruce was mad and didn't like Clark, and this ruined any potential friendship between them.
Lois sat down on the couch and sighed. "You should've let me pitch this for an article." She joked. "So much is happening right now, gosh."
"Did you talk to Jon?"
Lois nodded. "He said that he knew about Damian's father being Bruce Wayne, but he never mentioned it because he didn't want to fuel any potential rivalry. I'm sure Damian told him that. The poor child is mixed into this, too, you know? The world knows that Bruce has only one adoptive son, now this other random kid shows up..."
"I fucked up, this is all my fault-"
"Clark, shut up and sit next to me."
Clark obeyed and he sat on the couch. He wasn't sure what to do. In the past, he would've pulled Lois into a hug and maybe they would've made out passionately, but that was kind of not an option now.
"I missed this. Sitting with you here. We are both always so busy..." Lois sighed.
"I'm sorry, truly."
"It isn't your fault. You should call Wayne as soon as possible, if you need a phone number, I can fetch you one."
"Thank you, Lois. You are my savior."
Lois just laughed. She really was.
Back at Wayne Manor, the mood was off. Bruce had woken up, he was in his room, but he was almost motionless. Jason stood by his side for some time, but then he switched with Alfred, who didn't speak much and just pressed a cold wet towel to Bruce's forehead. This was such a mess and fucked up his plans to talk with the kids.
"Ugh.." Bruce grunted. "What time is it...?"
"Close to 7PM sir, you've been out for a while." Alfred soaked the towel in a dish with more water. "I fear that your morning workout contributed to that, your body isn't used to this kind of pressure."
"It used to be."
"Yes, but not anymore. You shall rest, master Bruce. I will bring you dinner here-"
"No! I need to speak with the kids. This is important. Please..."
Alfred gently caressed Bruce's face. "As you wish, I will call them in. I must also let you know that Mr. Kent tried to get in touch with you. I told him you were busy working on a project and will get back to him once you're off."
"Thank you, Alfred..."
It didn't take long for all of Bruce's children to get into his room. They were lined up like soldiers, and Bruce could see the worry in some of their faces.
"How are you, B?" Dick tried to break the ice.
"I am well-"
"Bullshit! You are not, you look so fucking pale, Bruce. Alfred said you wanted to talk, so please, don't lie to us." Jason interrupted.
"You are right, and I am sorry. What I did was stupid, my actions led by fear. I don't want to put any more pressure on any of you." Bruce tried to sit up. "I'm also sorry for pushing you away and being secretive. I just want you to know that it isn't distrust; you are my children, and I love you very much. I am willing to answer any questions you may have."
They looked at Bruce, then at one another and Jason decided to speak first. "Well, so are you and Kent dating?"
"No, we were just out for pizza, the paparazzi caught us and made up a story."
Jason nodded. "So what made you so upset at him?"
"Well, maybe I kind of overheard him yell that he has a crush on me... while he was talking on the phone... with his ex wife." Bruce was genuinely embarrassed repeating that, but the whole group's reaction was chaotic to say the least, with the only one normal about it being Dick.
"Wow, the man also has kids, imagine the nightmare fuel this household will become after you two marry." Tim laughed.
Jason joined in with a grin. "Yeah, at least you can't get Kent pregnant, or we might end up with another spawn of Satan." He shot a look at Damian.
"I think that is enough! I am not marrying Clark, I don't like him like that. End of story."
"Uh, yes, because it is definitely normal to have a panic attack and pass out over some newspaper article about you two dating." Jason continued. "Furthermore, he got you so worked up, that you hit the gym. Listen to your damn doctors and rest."
Bruce just rolled his eyes. The difference between Clark having a celebrity crush on him and literally any other person, was the fact that Clark actually had a chance. That made Bruce want to vomit. He was tired of all the people he cared about either leaving him or hurting him. If Bruce had to remember every past relationship he'd had none of them ended well.
Back in university he dated a girl named Selina Kyle. She was honestly gorgeous and the best thing that happened to him, he even considered proposing to her after they both graduate. Until she broke up with him, she claimed she was a "bad influence" for Bruce and was getting him off his tracks.
Then he tried to experiment with a guy. He hooked up with one of his teammates, Harvey Dent. Bruce found Harvey to be an amazing kisser and great in bed too. But after the shooting, Harvey ended up leaving the team, and Bruce kind of ghosted him. They haven't had a conversation longer than simple greetings ever since.
Bruce thought he'd never find love again, especially because he was now in a worse state both physically and mentally, but then he met a woman named Talia al Ghul while doing physical therapy abroad. She was amazing, she was strong and smart and she didn't care that Bruce had a bullet wound on his leg. Their love was very passionate, until her father found out about it and decided that he didn't like Bruce. So they had to split. What Bruce didn't know, however, was that Talia was pregnant. A few years after Bruce was back in Gotham, he received a letter from Talia, begging him to take in their child, because her father didn't want to be around him anymore.
By the time Bruce already had some vague parenting experience from adopting his other kids, so he had no issue taking in a blood son too, that was Damian.
But knowing he had a child with his last love didn't fill the void. He never really got over any of his exes; he missed them emotionally, and occasionally, he missed the good, mind-blowing sex.
Clark was the best of all three. Bruce had done a background check on his opponent. He was an amateur basketball player in university, and grew up on a farm in Smallville, Kansas. His grades were high and he managed to win a scholarship. Clark was smart, charming, attractive, and very funny from all the interviews Bruce watched of him. Metropolis citizens called him the "Man of Steel" because his winning rates were absolutely insane.
Thankfully, Bruce thought, he had no emotional connection to the man yet, which was amazing because that meant he wouldn't be able to get his feelings hurt. The bad part was how much Clark was into Bruce.
When Bruce got home and locked himself in his room last night, he did a lot of research. Apparently, Clark talked a lot about Bruce during his absence, and there was always that tiny flicker in Clark's eyes. Gosh, it was adorable. Clark owned a pair of Bruce's socks, had made a lot of donations to Wayne Enterprises charities during Bruce's hiatus, and even had every Gotham Bats calendar ever made.
So the moral dilemma came here, if Bruce were to make one wrong step towards Clark's feelings, he might really emotionally scar the man. Initially, Bruce planned to just scare him off, play a role, a charming man who is also quite dangerous, but now if he did that it might make matters worse.
The man looked at his kids, who were still in the room, and sighed. Bruce didn't like to admit it but they were very overprotective of him, especially Dick and Jason, because they were with him during the shooting. Bruce knew what it was like to lose a parent to violence, and so did his two sons. They had already gotten used to Bruce being their father figure, and all of a sudden, they had to watch him get shot. And afterwards, they kind of treated Bruce as something fragile, which made him even more closed off.
"I have a very important call to make, so I would ask you to leave me to it, but I will get down to dinner." Bruce smiled.
"You'd better, no more panic attacks, you are strong and you have to stay calm," Cass answered with a smile, before leaving, the boys following right after.
Bruce didn't really want to call Clark right away, so he pulled out his tablet from the nightstand and opened his folder with the team's arrangement. He decided to do something stupid - invite Clark to the Bats' practice tomorrow and maybe give him pointers. That would probably fulfill some kind of odd dream in the back of Clark's mind.