"What...? Bruce, what do you mean...."
"I meant exactly what I said, Clark. Breast cancer..."
"But you-... Batman!"
"Yes, Clark I know."
"And does Dick know?!"
"No, and he's not going to."
Clark doesn't know what to do. His stomach churns and his head swims. "What do you mean, he won't?? Why wouldn't you tell him?"
"Because he doesn't need to know. He's happy, I'm not going to ruin that. It's his birthday."
Clark is definitely going to vomit. "He's gonna be pissed when he finds out...."
"Which," Bruce begins to button his shirt back "is why he won't find out. You cannot say a thing."
"Bruce...."
The billionaire glances up.
"What's going to happen to you..."
Bruce sighs. He runs his hands under the cold water from the tap and rubs his face. "Leslie said they'll try surgery first. Hopefully, everything goes well. We caught it relatively early."
"And if.... things don't go well?"
"If it comes back, or they don't get it all, she'll put me on Chemo for a while. But it's pretty small for now. Only a few symptoms."
"HOW ARE YOU SO CALM ABOUT THIS"
"Shut up I swear to god....... And I'm not... I'm scared, Clark. I'm worried that something will happen, and... and I'll disappoint Dick."
"You couldn't-"
"But what if I do!"
Clark gets closer and rubs circles on Bruce's back, calming him ever so slowly. "You won't.... You can't. He loves you, and so do I."
Bruce hugs him. A deep, crushing, terrified hug. And he doesn't let go for what feels like forever.
"Are you okay now....?"
Bruce nods into Clark's shoulder, squeezing the alien for a second before letting go. "I'm fine...."
"Okay.... let's go back out now."
Bruce nods and follows the Kryptonian out of the restroom, and back to his son's party.
For the next few days, Clark has been hovering. More than usual. "Clark!" Bruce, fully suited, slams his fist onto his keyboard. "I am fine! Stop!"
Superman winces silently, and all but cowers back. "Sorry..."
Bruce sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose hard. "I'm not being mean, Kal, just... space. I need space."
Clark nods. He rubs the back of his neck nervously and floats over to a seat a few feet away.
"Thank you... Now, if you'll let me finish, then we can go upstairs and enjoy ourselves a bit, hm?"
At this, Clark seems to perk up a little. He gets up, and leaves to change out of his costume. A few minutes later, he returns in flannel pajama pants and a plain white t-shirt. He makes his way to Bruce's computer chair and places a gentle kiss onto Batman's neck.
"I'll be up in a second...." Bruce stares intently at his screen.
"That could mean anything from an actual second, to tomorrow night with you..."
"I-... a few minutes then."
Clark rolls his eyes and goes back to his seat, crossing one leg dramatically over the other.
