listen. If you keep pushing like this, it wonโt be a cough โ youโll end up collapsing out here.โ He pauses, then adds gently, โGo home. Let yourself recover. Iโll keep an eye on Gotham tonight. Trust me.โ
Beneath heโs as Bruce suppresses the cough, his jaw tightening in that familiar display of stubbornness. He knows Bruce too well โ always fine, always pushing through his limits. But tonight, Clark can see right through it.
Still, Bruce remains quiet; he knows what Clark is saying is correct, but that doesnโt mean heโll admit to that. In his mind, heโs fine. Heโs always fine; he has to be.
With one exhale, it catches his throat; causing another cough to escape him. He covers his mouth with โ
When Bruce finally speaks, voice strained, dismissing it as โjust a cough,โ Clark exhales slowly, eyes softening with a mixture of concern and exasperation.
โItโs not ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต a cough, Bruce,โ he says, tone firmer now. โYour bodyโs telling you something, and you need to
he rises slowly into the air, the ground beneath him gently releasing him as he ascends. He hovers for a moment, looking down, as if silently reaffirming his promise to look out for her, whether she knows it or not.
Then, with a quiet whoosh, he flies off, leaving her in peace.
Clark watches her, the fear in her eyes clear as day. His words arenโt reaching her, not the way heโd hoped. He can hear the desperation in her tone, the fear of being sent back to wherever sheโs from. And it breaks something in him, knowing that no matter how much
She stares up at him, with her one frightened eye. His words donโt seem to soothe her. Itโs the same type of stuff doctorโฆuhmโฆshe forgets his nameโฆhe said stuff like this, and then he was bad.
She squirms uneasily, tiny frame squishing up against the bricks some more. A >
as he speaks softly one last time. โNo oneโs going to make you go back, Alice. Youโre free now. And youโll stay that way.
If you ever need my help, just call out. Iโll hear.โ
He doesnโt wait for a response. Clark knows he should leave her be for now. With a final glance,
The wheeze in his chest, faint to most, is clear as day to his heightened senses. Clark touches down quietly beside him, crossing his arms and looking over the city. He gives Bruce a moment, but he knows no explanation is coming.
The sound of Clark descending upon him is as familiar as Gotham to him now; his cape moving not with the breeze of the air, but with the man of steel racing to a standstill.
Bruce doesnโt look at him; he doesnโt need to. It still irritates him, that he canโt hide anything โ
The faint but persistent sound of a cough reaches him, and Clark decides itโs enough. Itโs the third day in a row. Bruce is ๐จ๐๐๐ .
He heads to Gotham in moments, enhanced senses spotting the familiar figure of the Dark Knight on patrol.
Heโs been coughing for 3 days now. Muscles have been pulled in his stomach; his features burn with the ache of illness. But he heads out tonight, as always. He canโt let anything slow him down.
โYouโre more quiet than usual lately.โ
Descending from the night sky, Clark lands quietly on the rooftop, cape barely rustling in the cold Gotham air. Below, the city hums its usual menace, but his attention is fixed on the figure standing at the edge of the โ Batman,
@SWORNUPONOATH Despite the usual gruffness, something about Bruceโs tone gives him pause. He crosses his arms, eyes narrowing slightly as he glances in the same direction.
โI was just passing through,โ he says, voice calm but with a hint of concern. โAnd I realized itโs been awhile since
โ