#absntia

It had been one miscalculation. One lousy miscalculation that lead to this. He thought he managed to collect and hide all kryptonite. After all, he spent years tracking down fragments and going undercover to purchase fragments on the black market. He’s even stolen kryptonite from Luthor’s fault. The issue wasn’t that he missed a piece. Rather, the issue was that he didn’t hide one of the pieces well enough. Luthor stole his piece back and by the time he realized it, Clark was already injured. Despite being injured the stubborn man, who convinced him to train him how to fight without his powers just a week ago ,pushed through, pushing his body far past his limits all so Bruce didn’t have to fight Luthor alone. It was a foolish decision that he will most certainly scold Clark for once he’s feeling better. 

𝑻𝑯𝑬  𝑩𝑳𝑶𝑾  𝑹𝑬𝑵𝑫𝑬𝑹𝑺  𝒀𝑶𝑼  𝑺𝑰𝑳𝑬𝑵𝑻 ,   enough  to  pierce,  claw,   tear  at  the  calm  of  his  touch    ——    and  how  it  brings  alight  every  wicked  edge  of  your  most  vicious  fears.    draw  sharp  intake  of  breath,   hushed  against  night’s  cover ,          ‘    𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭  𝐬𝐚𝐲  𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡  𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 .    ’          weighted  as  WARNING    /    PLEADING  if  only  to  stifle  the  truth’s  overwhelming  grip.    you  know  how  this  would  be  received.    you  KNOW  because  you  have  been  kept  and  cradled,   in  every  instance  that  has  been  concealed  from  him  in  the  quiet  of  your  tongue,   when  your  father  would  pull  you  into  his  embrace ,    [    𝚒'𝚖  𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚍  𝚏𝚘𝚛  𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚍 .    𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚝  𝚑𝚞𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚜  𝚏𝚘𝚛  𝚑𝚒𝚖  𝚊𝚜  𝚑𝚎  𝚑𝚞𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚜  𝚏𝚘𝚛  𝚢𝚘𝚞 ,   𝚊𝚗𝚍  𝚒  𝚏𝚎𝚊𝚛  𝚑𝚎  𝚍𝚘𝚎𝚜  𝚗𝚘𝚝  𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 .   𝚢𝚘𝚞  𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚝  𝚔𝚎𝚎𝚙  𝚑𝚒𝚖  𝚝𝚘  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 ,   𝚖𝚢  𝚜𝚘𝚗 .    ]          these  words  split  your  soul.   you  stare  at  the  ceiling,   abyss  in  the  dark,   and  will  unspoken  tears  in  the  corners  of  your  eyes  to  scald  amidst  your  marks    —    𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒐𝒏 - 𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒏  𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒆 .

             ‘    can’t  you  feel  it ?    ’          you  stifle  a  shudder  with  a  squeeze  of  his  hand,    how  words  drip  in  hollow .         ‘    the  evil .    ’          and  perhaps  it  frightens  you  most  that  he  does  not.    could  it  mean  that  the  evil  has  poisoned  him,   driven  him  away  from  the  light ?    or  perhaps  he  has  always  been  touched  by  the  angels    /    𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕  𝒂𝒏𝒅  𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓  𝒃𝒍𝒖𝒆.    you  turn.    meet  the  divinity  written  in  the  sea  of  his  eyes  and  draw  your  fingers  carefully    —    tentatively    —    against  the  silken  waves  above  his  ear .

             ‘    it  aches,   splinters.   it  would  devour  me,   if  father  had  not  led  us  to  the  light .    ’          swallow  back  the  grief.    seek  home  in  the  planes  of  his  face,   ethereality  and  balm  to  the  twisting  of  your  heart .          ‘    we  are  saving  souls    ——    their  souls.    𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭  𝐚𝐬  𝐰𝐞  𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞  𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧  𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐝 .    ’

Clark is good about understanding his boundaries and respecting them - it’s why Superman doesn’t kiss Batman when there’s a risk of someone walking in on them. Batman doesn’t enjoy having an audience and likes to hold himself to a higher standard - he likes to give the Watchtower a sense of professionalism. Besides, there’s enough PDA going around thanks to some of the younger heroes who are still in the honeymoon phase of their relationships. 

His boundaries relate to a strict rule of professionalism, and much to Clark’s delight, this doesn’t apply to the cave underneath Wayne manor. Clark takes advantage of this, throwing both patience and caution to the wind as he touches Bruce as soon as they’re in the cave. It starts like it always does, a hand rests on his shoulder and travels down his arm, ending with their hands intertwining. It’s a subtle affection and a means of Clark testing the waters. Just what mood is the Bat in? Is he in a cuddly mood tonight? Or is he tired? Or does he need some space? Clark always waits, waiting for a content sigh to escape his lips for continuing. If the hand holding is well received he gets bolder, releasing him in order to capture him again, gentle hands tugging him forward by his hips, eager to pull him into an embrace. 

SMASH OR PASS

Clark’s actions speak louder than words as he kneels so he’s eye level with him. Bruce managed to more or less control his powers but with a recent spike in crime, both in Gotham and internationally, his stress and exhaustion spiked as well... And it seems that stress and exhaustion impact his ability to control his powers in a rather unfavorable way. He’s spent hours struggling to center himself, trying to stop himself from repeatedly teleporting. He’s got a pounding headache and he’s so tired he can feel it in his bones. If it were any other situation he’d grumble and protest, but he knows Clark’s feelings are warranted. If the situation were reversed he’d be as equally as concerned.