THE CALLING

The Flying Graysons

"Bruce! Hey Bruucee!" Clark could only pester him so much as Bruce swiftly made his way up the stairs. "Can you at least pretend to listen to me?"

Bruce stepped out in front of the grandpa clock and in a swift movement, turned around to face Clark. "What?" He sounded a bit annoyed.

"Well" Clark lingered on his words. "Why not give it a thought?"

"No" Bruce's reply was fast and Clark hated the fact that he could do little to nothing to convince him.

"Should I just tie you up and take you with me? I'm seriously considering that, Bruce. Because you are being so stubborn"

Clark wondered if he was seeing things. But before Bruce turned his face away, he thought he saw a shade of red creep up his cheeks. Clark saw the opportunity and jumped. He followed after Bruce, as he stomped through the hallways and into his bedroom, teasing him about how he was acting all tough when he was actually shy.

"Aw, look at that red face of yours"

"Hn. Shut up, will you?"

Clark smiled. He finally managed to clasp Bruce's shoulder and make him meet his eyes. "Bruce, give me one good reason why you're refusing to go. Think about it, we could all get to know--"

Clark blinked when Bruce picked something from his table and shoved it in his face.

"It's because I have plans" Bruce's voice didn't waver, but however it was soft. He took Clark's hand in his and placed what he was holding up in it.

Clark looked down at his hand and saw two tickets resting on it. "Oh" he said, almost dazed.

Haly's circus, it read.

He wondered if he really wanted to know but he asked anyway, "W-Who are you planning to go with?"

Bruce stared at him. When Clark kept looking at him clueless, he heaved a sigh and flicked his forehead. "You, silly. Who else would I go with?"

Clark blinked. "Wait--" he fwipped around as Bruce walked over to the window to fling open the curtains. It was a rare sight to  see the Batman in sunlight. And Clark felt privileged to see it.

"For real?" He asked, not even bothering to hide his excitement.

"Yes" Bruce let out a gasp when he felt himself being lifted off the floor. "Clark! What--"

"I'm so happy!" Clark beamed as he hugged Bruce tight, snuggling his face closer to his, taking in all the warmth.

Bruce couldn't help the smile that tugged at his lips.

•••

Clark has been to a lots of places with Bruce, as his best buddy. They used to hang out a lot. But this time it felt different.

They were on a date.

He was on cloud nine. Everytime he turned his head to look at the man beside him, his heart leapt up to his throat out of joy. He was happy. He was nervous. He never felt this way about anyone. It was as if he had finally found where he actually belonged.

"Quit staring at me, Hay-boy"

Clark grinned at how Bruce tried to sound annoyed. But who was he trying to kid? Clark could clearly hear his slightly elevated heart beat and how his breath hitched everytime their eyes met. He wasn't called Superman for nothing.

"Is it their first time in Gotham?" Clark asked purely out of curiosity.

"Hn. I remember they came to Gotham once when I was a kid. My father took me to that show. And now that they're back, I thought the least I could do was go watch" Bruce said, his eyes softening.

As the both of them walked through the bustling ground of the circus, Clark could almost imagine how little Bruce might have felt back then -- the place was full of joy-- it would definitely be engraved in a child's mind as a happy memory.

"The Flying Graysons"

Clark looked up when he heard Bruce murmur. "Hm?"

"We should go watch. I heard they're famous"

"Yeah?"

Just one glance at the crowd was enough to know how "famous" these guys were. It was literally a beehive. The both of them scurried through the crowd, making their way to the front. Sure, they earned a lot of curse words and side eyes, but yeah, who cares?

Clark could tell the performers were indeed talented. They literally flew from one trapeze to another....

It was dazzling to watch. Maybe Bruce thought the same. He had never seen such amazement and admiration in his eyes. It was kind of satisfying to watch.

Clark would have definitely loved to watch the show uninterrupted, but his phone kept vibrating inside his pockets.

"Bruce"

Bruce looked up at him with confused eyes.

"My boss has been calling me non-stop. You stay here and watch the show. I'll be right back after this call"

Bruce just casually nodded and Clark, with much difficulty, scurried away and out of the crowd, muttering "Excuse me" and apologizing like it was his new favourite hobby.

•••

The trio on stage were probably a family. A man and a woman accompanied by a child of about 12. They swung from one trapeze to another with such graze and the crowd howled and cheered every time they let go and got caught. It was almost as if they were dancing.

It was amazing and Bruce has never seen something like this in his entire life. It was just a moving circus and yet he found immense joy just being there. Maybe it was because he was there with Clark.

Oh right , Clark.

He wondered if Clark got lost or something. It has been a while since he left. He decided to wait for another minute and then go find him himself. Being in a crowd this big all by himself made him feel a bit grumpy.

•••

Bruce decided he had waited enough. There was still no sign of Clark and he was growing impatient. He heaved a sigh. The show was just too good .

He took one last glance at the stage and turned around. Just as he tried to take a step forward, the crowd broke out into a howl. But this time, it was of pure horror. He could hear screams. And a loud thud.

He fwipped his head around and all he could see was red.