Rescued (SuperBat fic)

6

When the car rolls up to the curb, the sidewalk is empty. I step out of the car and keep a hand on the door as I glance around for Clark.
When I see him come around the corner, my stomach flips.
I step away from the car and close the door. I walk over to Clark and stand in front of him, hands in my pockets, shoulders rounded.
"Hey Bruce," he says, his tone light and easy.
"Hi."
He steps closer and looks down at me.
"Shall we go in then?"
I nod and gesture for him to lead the way. He leads me to a table at the back. He sits spread out and comfortable, one of his elbows on the back of his chair. I sit opposite him feeling small and uncertain, my back straight.
Clark puts his hands on the table and drums his fingers.
"Well Bruce, you invited me here, maybe talk."
And I'm about to respond when a waitress comes over and asks what she can get us. I ask for a glass of red wine and look to Clark. He asks for a beer.
I look into his chiselled face and wonder what to say.
"I don't know, I just find you really attractive. I want to be closer to you."
Clark's mouth turns up at one corner.
"I would have thought you'd have a gaggle of girls to call up late at night."
I chuckle.
"I know how to get it, if I want to hook up. But I think I want more."
Clark nods to himself, straightens up as the waitress comes back with our drinks. He takes a sip of his beer and fixes his eyes on me.
"So what do you do on weekends, Bruce?"
"I box with Alfred, watch sports, work, play."
"Play?"
I blush.
"Hook up, y'know, just sometimes."
"I didn't have Alfred down as a boxer."
"Well he grew up differently than I did, there's toughness in him."
"There's toughness in you."
I frown.
"I never said there wasn't."
Clark bites his lip.
This isn't going well.
Clark sighs.
"When was the last time you went on a first date, Bruce? You're rusty."
"Like two years ago," I tell him.
He whistles.
"Shut up, you were with Lois forever."
And his head drops.
I bite the inside of my cheek.
And just when the silence starts to get uncomfortable, our phones ping several times with messages from the Justice League chat.
Clark pulls the collar of his shirt away from his neck and I see the familiar blue suit beneath it. I mirror him, skim my fingers over the tough material of my Batsuit. I throw a twenty down on the table and follow Clark out. I hail the town car as we leave the bar and we dive inside. Clark barks the address at Liam and the two of us strip off our business suits as we weave through the traffic.
We arrive uptown, close to the river, in a block filled with dead ground and warehouses. A truck sits with its engine rumbling quietly and the lift down at the back. We find the gang crouched close together, hiding behind the wooden fence of the yard. Clark taps Diana's shoulder and rises a few inches off the ground to take in what we're up against. He touches back down after a moment.
"It's Lex," he whispers. "With some kind of robot army."
"This is so not what I wanted to be doing tonight," I mutter.
"Who you wanted to be doing," Clark mutters back.
The gang look between us, confused. Before anyone adds up our snark and the fact that we arrived together and gets 4, a bang makes us all jump.
Diana takes hold of the fence and peers over.
"Lex just shot the truck driver."
Clark springs off the ground, soars over the yard, then drops out of sight.
A thud.
Then the sound of groaning metal rings out.
I look to the others.
Diana frowns at me and grabs hold of me when I shift as though to hop over the fence.
"Give him a minute."
I shrug Diana's hand off and swing over the fence, landing heavy with bent knees.
I see Clark on the other side of the yard, his back to the destroyed truck, fighting four of Lex's bots, while Lex looks on, shouting and operating controls on his wrist.
I creep across to the warehouse and stick close to the walls as Clark takes his heat vision to wave after wave of the bots, leaving their mangled remains on the ground.
When Clark turns his attention to Lex, so do I. We sprint for him at the same time. I see it when Lex lifts his Kryptonite. And I am close enough to push Clark out of the way.
Clark balls himself up, rolls a few feet, and leans back on his hands as I unleash a frenzy of blows on Lex. I back him into the corner of the warehouse, land a kick to his solar plexus and use my heel to pin him to the wall.
I breathe heavily and stare him down.
I hear running footsteps behind me and shout to Diana, "Lasso him."
The golden rope lands around Lex's shoulders and she pulls it tight. I put my foot back to the ground and look around for Clark. He's leaning on the Flash, looking scuffed and tired, a little worse for wear. Already sirens are rolling in towards us. I stand with Lex and Diana until the police set cuffs on him and give us a small, perfunctory salute. I wander over to Clark and set a hand on his shoulder.
"You look beat," I tell him. "Let me give you a ride home."
Clark nods.
I throw an arm over his shoulder and walk him to the car. He's barely lifting his feet at all. When he takes his seat in the car, he doesn't seem to care that his cape is trapped beneath him and stretching. I watch him carefully as the blocks go by.
Clark calls up to Liam and asks him to park. I notice that we're around the corner from his apartment. I ask Liam to hang back as I walk Clark up to his door.
I stand with Clark on the stoop.
I pat his arm.
"Hey Clark, cheer up, we got him."
Clark forces a smile.
"And you did save me."
"About earlier -"
Clark waves a hand.
"Forgotten. Can we try again Monday night?"
"Yeah. I'll text you a location."
I hold his elbows and rise on my tiptoes to press a kiss to Clark's jaw, to his stubble.
I jog away, glancing back at him as he disappears inside.
When I get back to the car, I can hear my heartbeat in my ears.