Chapter Text
Bruce peeled back the sleeve of his shirt, exposing the purple keloid scars that littered his arm. The right mirrored the left. Bruce looked into the reflective glass of the skyscraper across the street and saw a man standing behind him. Upon closer inspection, aided by the contact lens sitting in his eye, working and whirring silently, he realised that it was Clark Kent.
‘L’appel du vide.’ Bruce said quietly, letting the words past his teeth easily.
‘Huh?’ Clark clearly hadn’t been paying as much attention as Bruce thought he had.
‘L’appel du vide.’ Bruce repeated himself. He had his back to Clark, and Clark remained where he stood when he had first stepped out of the balcony doors. ‘It means the call of the void. You probably don’t feel it, the urge when you stand at the top of a tall building and the little voice in the back of your mind is saying do it , jump off , jump , jump , jump . It’s the strongest decision your brain can make when faced with "stay in the unknown" versus "jump to certainty". If I stay up here Dick could move to Metropolis when he grows up, Alfred could be involved in a plane crash, one of my “Brucie Wayne” stunts could go too far and end up hurting someone important to me. Who knows. But if I jump, I know exactly what will happen.’ Bruce planted his hands on the thick stone railing and pushed himself up. He swung his legs one by one over his head, completely inverting and standing upon his hands suspended over Gotham. The balcony doors were closed and the curtains were drawn, no one would see. Finally he was facing Clark, staring blankly at him upside down.
'What will happen?' Clark asked, his voice was strangled. Despite the twisting in his gut and heart, Bruce's face stayed impassive and empty.
‘You won’t let me die.’ He said flatly before letting his legs topple, dragging him down into thin air and comfortable certainty.
He got all of a vertical yard from the balcony before he fell into the waiting arms of The Man of Steel. Clark said nothing as he floated them back up to safety. ‘You know, Lois pulled the same trick on me to test who I was. She was so sure of her conviction that she threw herself off of a thirty storey building, knowing I would save her before she could hit the ground. I was kinda hoping you would refrain from pulling the same stunt.’ Clark floated slowly down to his knees, still holding Bruce in his arms, and cleared a stray hair from Bruce’s face. In their eight years of friendship Bruce had never thrown himself from a great height expecting Clark to save him. Batman certainly hadn’t either. ‘Maybe stay away from high places for a while.’ Clark gently set Bruce down and the two of them sat beside each other, backs to the stone balcony railing. ‘The void seems to really like you.’ Bruce remained silent as he got to his feet. He had just reached for the door handle when he heard Clark say ‘Are you gonna be okay?’
‘I will be.’ Bruce confirmed in the most monotone voice he could manage, before disappearing inside and leaving Clark on the balcony.
🂾🂾🂾
The gentle classical music that poured out of the doors when Bruce opened them would have been audible even without Kryptonian hearing, and Clark was aware it was meant to make for a calm and sophisticated atmosphere, but he found all it made him do was tense up and grind his teeth in overstimulation. He reached into his pocket for his phone and got to his feet. He held it up to his ear in mimicry of a regular human person. He would have been able to hear whatever his Mama had to say to him even without the aid of the phone, but she needed the phone to hear him. Holding the phone up to his ear, working, eating, sleeping, all the human rituals for performance. Bruce would understand the pretenses better than anyone Clark knew.
Hey Clark .
His Mama’s southern accent came from inside the phone. She was always so happy to hear from him. ‘Hey Ma. You know how I’m coming down to see you and Pa soon?’
Yes , two weeks from now , Dear .
‘Would it be okay if I brought a friend?’ Clark stared down at a crack in the stone he was leaning his elbows on. Ma would never say no to him bringing a friend to the farm, she and Pa would just be happy that he had a friend to bring. They adored Lois, and Kara was always welcome. Had they met Bruce? Seen him on the news? Did news from Gotham reach Smallville? Questions for later.
Oh , Clark , you know that would be fine . Why do you ask ?
‘I’m worried about him. He was saying…’ Clark scrubbed his face with the heel of his hand after he trailed off, internally rewriting his words to try to avoid having to audibly explain how he had rescued Bruce after he willingly launched himself off a balcony. Much higher than Lois had, and no hesitation from either of them before they fell. ‘He was talking funny.’ A little Kansas twang painted his words. Bruce had learned very quickly that Clark's accent slipped whenever his emotions got to be a little too much. When it was really intense his Kryptonian accent would emerge from the depths of his language-addled brain. Bruce always knew what set it off and what Clark needed in response, it worked every time. World's greatest detective indeed.
Clark .
She could tell he was hiding something. She always could.
‘It’s not…’ And there was the Kryptonian accent. ‘It really isn’t my place, Ma. He needs help and I think the farm would be a much better place for him to have some breathing room than Gotham.’
Of course , Honey . We’ll make sure he’s right as rain in no time . You just worry about continuing to be a good friend to him, Clark .
‘Will do, Ma. Love you.’ Clark breathed a short sigh of relief when he realised his accent had returned to the usual one would find in Metropolis. Talking with his Ma and Pa always put him back on the straight and narrow.
I love you too , Baby .
The call clicked and Clark returned his phone to his pocket. He stepped inside the balcony doors and was instantly met with the sight of Bruce dishevelled and smiling. To others he would look like a vapid fool. To Clark he looked like everything he could never ever have. Metropolis would always need Superman, and Gotham would always need Batman. Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne could never run perpendicular, always parallel. Especially with the budding formation of the Justice League.
Put on the mask and step off the ledge . Bruce had put his on, now it was time for Clark to do the same. He got his notepad out, making sure to fumble it a little as he meandered towards Bruce, weaving through the throng of people. Though it seemed that every time Clark got close Bruce was somewhere else.
Here they were, running parallel. And it would be that way until Batman fell from a Gotham skyscraper.
With no one to catch him.