THE CALLING

Talk over tea

A week passed and Clark thought he would pay his dear friend a visit. He hated Gotham in every aspects. The place reeked of blood and crimes. The only good thing it had was Bruce. And of course, Alfred.

The drive to Gotham was tiring. The drive through Gotham was scary. Someone could just pop out of nowhere inside your car and rob everything off of you, or worse, murder you.

Clark walked up the stairs that lead to the Wayne Manor, admiring the greenery around. No matter how many times he had been there, it never fails to surprise him how perfectly everything was kept. Alfred really was something.

He rang the door bell and in a moment, he was greeted by Alfred. "Master Kent! How have you been?", his generous tone bought a smile upon Clark's face.

"Good, Alfred. You?"

"I'm surviving, Sir"

The both of them chuckled.

"Is Bruce home?" Clark enquired and Alfred nodded. "He was dozing off in his room when I left him"

Clark nodded and went upstairs to Bruce's room. He had permission to go in uninvited, atleast no one ever stopped him from doing so.

"Bru--" Clark swung open the door to Bruce's bedroom and his eyes went wide.

Bruce stood there infront of the mirror, shirtless and his bare upper body was covered in scars.

"Hey Clark" Bruce sounded surprised too. He muttered something under his breath as he put on a shirt.

Clark was too shocked that it took him a moment to respond. "Bruce, what the hell!?"

Bruce let out a nervous chuckle. "What?"

"The scars, where did you get them?" Clark walked towards him, trying to intimidate him.

"Well..." Bruce lingered on his words. "You know of how bad Gotham is. And of how often I get kidnapped. It happens" ,he let out a dry chuckle.

Clark's eyes looked hurt. He leaned forward and embraced Bruce in a tight hug. He didn't know if it was for Bruce's comfort or for his own.

"Clark, you're choking me" Bruce struggled in Clark's tight grip, he knew the man could just squeeze him to death.

Clark finally backed away, his brows still drawn together in a knot. "I'm sorry"

Bruce just waved it off. "So...what brings you to lady Gotham?"

"I just wanted to see you"

Bruce made a cheeky smile. "How sweet of you" he grinned. "Come, let's talk over tea. I think Alfred made pies, don't you smell them?" He snuffed the air, trying to pick up the aroma.

Clark chuckled. " Yeah, I think I do"

•••

" Hey Bruce" Clark called out and Bruce hummed in response as he set his gaze far into the sky, savouring the taste of his tea.

The lawn around them smelled like rain and Clark felt a strange feeling of home, he was in  a world of his own.

"What do you think of Batman?"

Bruce stopped momentarily, then weighed his words before he spoke. He had to make it seem like he thought it was random. " I think he's a decent guy"

Clark nodded. "How can you be sure he's a guy?"

Bruce choked on his tea and Clark handed him a tissue, still not bothering to snap out of the trance he was in.

" Well..." Bruce started after his coughs settled. " He sounds like a male, so.."

Clark turned his head to look at Bruce, his lips forming a pout. " That's not what I meant. What if he's a vampire? Or a God-sent creature?"

" Then I think he defies all our concepts about God" Bruce shook his head and chuckled. He found this talk silly, but strangely interesting at the same time.

"Why do you think he hates Superman so much?"

Bruce let out a scoff. "Why do you think he hates Superman?"

That was when Clark realised he was talking too much. He straightened up himself and cleared his throat. "Well, haven't you seen them on TV? They always look like they are arguing"

Clark knew they could never show such a clip on TV, because none of them speaks directly to each other when in public. But he just hoped Bruce wouldn't notice. He had to cover up his dumb slip of tongue.

Bruce chuckled softly. "Maybe..." ,he heaved a sigh. "Maybe he just doesn't want Superman to go off on his own and get hurt"

Clark clicked his tongue. "Superman would be the last person who would get hurt"

"Who knows, everyone ought to have some weakness. It's even more dangerous when you don't even know what your weakness is". Bruce gazed into Clark's eyes and saw him staring back at him, his blue hues looking deep into his soul. Bruce brought a gentle look on his eyes and smiled.

Clark knew he shouldn't be saying anything. But even before he knew the words came rolling out of his tongue. "Why do you care about me so much?"

A moment of silence and Bruce made a chuckle. He reached out a hand to tousle Clark's hair, which the other man just accepted ,bowing his head slightly. "Because you are pretty much all I have"

Clark's eyes lingered on Bruce's before they looked away. "You have Alfred", he mumbled out and Bruce laughed.

"Yeah you're right" he lied down on the lawn with his hands behind his head. "I have Alfred too"

The sun shone a little brighter that day and the evening looked even more beautiful.