Hands (SuperBat)

16 Hurt

After a week, Kal came out for breakfast with Bruce and Damian.

Bruce said, "Glad to have you for breakfast, Kal." The past week was him finding Kal staring out his bedroom window longingly.

Kal nodded.

Damian said, "And sorry about the glove."

Kal said, "It's okay. Even I didn't know I would react like that."

Breakfast was particularly quiet.

Bruce had to leave and do Bruce Wayne things, and Damian went off to do whatever Robin does.

When Bruce came back home, it was evening. He made sure to shower well and make sure no blood was on him before going to Kal. He found Kal in his bedroom staring out the window freshly showered. He said, "Hey, Kal. How are you doing?"

Kal turned to him and said, "Hi. I was thinking of going to bed soon."

"Now?"

"Yeah," Kal said. "Ever since I got my powers back, my sleep has been off. I've been in and out of sleep at night." Normally, he wouldn't have to sleep much. Maybe it was from not having his abilities for so long.

Bruce asked, "Want me to sleep with you? Maybe it can help get the restful sleep you need."

"Um," Kal said hesitantly. He looked down to the floor as if he was ashamed. "This past week, I've had some nightmares that left me... I already put on a..." He grimaced.

"It's fine," Bruce said, catching his drift. "It's better to piss in a diaper than on me." He shrugged nonchalantly.

"Could you be a little less crass?" Kal asked flustered.

"Come on," Bruce said as he got into the bed. "If you are ready to sleep, you can come to bed." He yawned, "Because I am actually really tired." He laid down.

Kal sighed to gather the will to lay down with Bruce. In a few seconds, he crawled into bed. He laid his head on Bruce's chest, but he kept the rest of his body separated from him. He laid there as he listened to Bruce's heartbeat and breath.

Bruce's breath slowed and deepened until he was asleep.

Kal waited for a bit to fall asleep. He reached over and placed his hand over by his own face. He laid his hand flat on Bruce's chest. He watched as his hand go up and down with his with Bruce's chest. After a few minutes, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

The next time Bruce woke up, he noticed Kal's fist clenching his shirt. He was trembling, and his breath was heavy. Tears wetted his face.

Bruce called with his rough voice, "Hey, Kal." He felt his heart hurt seeing him like that. Before he could think about the consequences, he reached over and wiped the tears from his face. "Hey, Kal. Wake-."

Suddenly, a blinding pain appeared on his face as he fell to the floor. He had to pause to get his bearings straight. He groaned as he rolled to his stomach. He slowly got up on his hands and knees as the room spun around him. He closed his eyes tightly to get pain under control.

There was a gasp from Kal.

Kal hit Bruce. A trembling voice went, "Oh my-. Oh no... Bruce. Nonononono."

When Bruce opened his eyes, he saw Kal with both hands gripping his own hair in distress. He was shaking his head as he looked at Bruce terrified.

"Kal," Bruce groaned. "It's okay..." He got up from the floor. Despite feeling off kilter, he stood straight up. He took a step forward, but it resulted in Kal stepping back into the wall. "Kal, don't worry about it."

"No," Kal panicked. "Don't... Don't..." He couldn't finish his sentence. He swallowed the lump in his throat. He slid down the wall until he was sitting. He curled up so tight, that it seemed like he wanted to disappear.

The pain was easier to find on his face at this point. It was somewhere on the side of his face. He tried his best to resist holding the side of his face for Kal's sake.

Bruce stayed in place.

"I don't want to hurt you anymore," Kal cried as he whispered. "I don't want to hurt you anymore. Please, don't." His body shook as he sobbed. The guilt and fear racked his body.

Bruce didn't know what to do. His heart hurt looking at Kal on the floor. He reached behind him and grabbed the blanket. He opened it wide. He said, "I'm coming to you, but I'm not going to touch you directly."

Kal just shook his head left to right. He was terrified of hurting Bruce.

Bruce took a few steps towards him. With each step, Kal tried to scoot away but the wall was behind him. Bruce shushed, "It's okay. Let me take care of you."

Kal finally let go of his hair, and slowly wrapped his arms around himself. The tears never stopped.

Kneeling down, Bruce wrapped the covers around Kal's shoulders. He shushed, "It's okay. It's okay." Over the covers, he wrapped his arms around him. He sat down beside him.

Kal tensed up.

"I know," Bruce whispered. "You won't hurt me." He held on to him tightly.

"But all I cause is pain."

"No," Bruce denied. "You are a... Great person." He tried to find the right words to explain all the reasons he loved him. "You bring so much light to my life. Whether you like it or not, I love you. I love everything about you. I love your mannerisms. I love your truth and justice. I love the weird flannel shirts you wear. I love you, Kal... Clark Kent... Superman."

Kal's cries became more intense. He sobbed, "How?"

"How could I love you?" Bruce asked, understand his one worded question. He rested his head on Kal's shoulder. "I can't help it." He squeezed his arms around him.

After a while, Kal calmed. He managed to say with his hoarse voice, "I'm sorry... But I need to be alone."

"Okay," Bruce said, nodding. "That's fine."

The two stood up.

Bruce gave Kal a kiss on the cheek and said, "Get plenty of rest, okay?"

Kal nodded.

Bruce walked out.

The next morning, he didn't see Kal. Bruce was hesitant to look for him due to the bruise on his cheek. He decided to go to his room anyways. He knocked on the door and asked, "Can I come in?"

A few seconds went by, a hollow, "No," came through the door. He had gone away in this mind again.

"Okay," Bruce said. "Take the time you need, okay?"

"Okay."