Fic: Missing Him - Part Three - Regrets and Repercussions
Title: Missing him - Three - Regrets and Repercussions
Fandom: JLU (AU)
Pairings/Characters: Bruce/Clark, others
Rating: PG (this part)
Summary (This Part): They awake/Bruce goes serching
Word count: ~1290 (~4760 tatal so far)
Disclaimer: Not mine, etc.
Notes: This fic is about 20k long. It's writen but i'm still poking the last half into submision. Warnings: genderbending, and all it entails.
Part One - It's A Kinda Magic
Part Two - Who am I?/Where is he?
Missing Him - Part Three - Regrets and Repercussions
Metropolis - Apollo Motel, 8:30am, May 16
Bruce peeled open a single eyelid. He felt like there were hammers pounding on his head. Where the hell was he? And what the hell had he been doing? Hazy memories started to come back to him in fits and starts. He was in Metropolis, or rather Matches was. Bruce Wayne was at a retreat.
He'd been looking for signs of Clark... Ah, so this headache was Clark's fault. Another thing he would lay at that damn man's feet when he found him. He had been checking the bars near where Clark was last seen. God, he must have gotten plastered. He couldn't remember the end of the evening. An image of black silk hair flashed through his mind. A woman?! Had he? He closed his eyes and tried to focus his thoughts.
Brucie Wayne might have a reputation for great debauchery and depravity, but the reality was different. A few years ago, it had gotten to the point where he could no longer hide the scars. Both the mental and physical ones. Bruce couldn't do long term relationships. He had tried, but they didn't work - they clashed with the mission. The mission was his whole life. The one-night stands had stopped fairly soon after that. About the time they had founded the JLA, coincidently. The one-night stands had ended because finding reasons for his scars had become an annoyance. Also, he just hadn't wanted it any more. Enough of his dates made up stories about their adventures that his reputation hadn't changed. The truth, though, was that Bruce Wayne, billionaire playboy, had lost his libido. This was one of his biggest secrets. Well, he had lost it until last night, apparently. It had been back with a vengeance. It was a shame that his mind was only letting him remember that it had happened and wasn't giving him a Technicolor flashback.
Bah. This wasn't helping him find Clark. Whatever had happened last night, he needed to focus on finding Clark. Moping around the bars of Metropolis, pulling random women, wasn't doing anything to help the man he had grown to consider his best friend. He would go home and regroup.
Just as soon as his hangover had cleared.
Metropolis - Lou and Rita's Kitchen, 9:00 am, May 16
Rita tossed the pancakes in the pan on the stove in front of her. She was worried about her new lodger. Elle was a sweet girl - sweet in a way that you didn't see anymore. An air of almost innocence surrounded her. Which was surprising for a girl who made her money singing in a club. It wasn't that Elle didn't see the world; she did. It was that the girl had an un-shattering faith that if you looked deep enough and you could find good anywhere. Rita would have said this was naive, but oddly, when Elle looked for good, she found it. In the last seven days, Rita had found out more about her neighbourhood than she had in seven years. Elle had an astounding ability to make friends. But her normally perky lodger was defiantly out of sorts this morning.
“You okay, honey?”
Elle looked up, a fake 'I'm fine' smile on her face. “I'm okay, Rita. Late night, last night. That's all.”
“Come on, honey, I may have only known you for less than a week but I know you don't need much sleep. What's up? The club getting to ya? You don't have to stay there forever ya know?”
“It's not the club, really, I'm fine.”
Rita looked at her new friend suspiciously. Time to get out the big guns. “Come on, I know something is up. No pancakes till you tell me.”
“You're evil you know that?” Elle said while stifling a laugh
“So? Are you going to tell me?”
Elle sighed. “All right. But please don't think less of me.”
Rita bit her lip at how lost the poor girl sounded. “Don't worry, sugar. There isn't anything in the world you could have done that I ain't done worse.” She sat down and lifted Elle's chin so the girl was looking directly into her eyes. “Come on. You can tell me.”
“Well.” Elle took a deep breath. “While I was singing, there was this guy... I felt a connection to him. You know, from before?”
Rita shifted in her chair to get comfortable. If this was about to go where she thought it would, they were going to be her for a while.
Gotham - Batcave, 5:00pm, May 24
Alfred was worried. Master Bruce had been in the cave for the last 72 hours and was now passed out at the main computer console. It had been over two weeks since Mister Kent had disappeared. While not exactly unusual for one in their line of work, the fact that it was Mister Kent was doubly worrying. Firstly, there was no way he would disappear with out letting people know. Mister Kent had a good sense of manners. He would never willingly let others worry. The second issue was that Master Bruce's deep attachment to Mister Kent meant that he wouldn't rest properly till they had him back. If the worst happened - and Alfred desperately hoped it wouldn't, but a good butler prepared for all occasions - if they didn't find Mister Kent, Alfred worried that Master Bruce may finally snap. Master Bruce may not have acknowledged the extent of his friendship with the Kryptonian, but The Family all knew.
Because of this, they were all working overtime. The boys were doing their bit. Master Bruce had no need to worry about his beloved Gotham while he worked to find his friend. Miss Barbara was doing whatever it was she did with her computers and networks of eletronic things. And himself? Alfred smiled fondly at his almost son. He would do what he always did and take care of the things no one else thought to. Alfred unfolded a blanket and covered the sleeping form. He was careful to tuck in the corners so there would be no cold spots. Once this was complete, he refilled the Thermos with coffee, and left it and some fresh sandwiches where Master Bruce would see them when he woke up. That job done, Alfred headed back up to the Manor.
Metropolis - Rita and Lou's bathroom, 2:30pm, June 2
Elle stared at the two little blue lines. Was this really happening? She still didn't know who she was. All she did know was that she was pregnant. Pregnant with the child of some Gothamite mobster! Rita had helped her ask around. The man she had felt so connected to, so safe with, was Matches Malone - a cold, hard killer. She had known there was an edge to him, but this? At first, she hadn't believed it. But then, with more questions asked, it became clear. The man was no good. She knew Rita had desided that he had something to do with her memory loss. Maybe he had? How could she trust that he hadn't met her before that night? He certainly knew how to make her respond to him, how to make her body tingle from head to toe. Even thinking of it now was heating her blood.
Elle looked at the two blue lines again. This made no difference. If anything, it was just another reason to get away. She would take herself and her baby somewhere safe. Metropolis was too big and as much as she loved this place, it was now to close to 'Daddy'. The Midwest sounded nice. She could settle in a small, friendly town or something. But the sooner she left, the better.
Here for Part Four.
Fandom: JLU (AU)
Pairings/Characters: Bruce/Clark, others
Rating: PG (this part)
Summary (This Part): They awake/Bruce goes serching
Word count: ~1290 (~4760 tatal so far)
Disclaimer: Not mine, etc.
Notes: This fic is about 20k long. It's writen but i'm still poking the last half into submision. Warnings: genderbending, and all it entails.
Part One - It's A Kinda Magic
Part Two - Who am I?/Where is he?
Missing Him - Part Three - Regrets and Repercussions
Metropolis - Apollo Motel, 8:30am, May 16
Bruce peeled open a single eyelid. He felt like there were hammers pounding on his head. Where the hell was he? And what the hell had he been doing? Hazy memories started to come back to him in fits and starts. He was in Metropolis, or rather Matches was. Bruce Wayne was at a retreat.
He'd been looking for signs of Clark... Ah, so this headache was Clark's fault. Another thing he would lay at that damn man's feet when he found him. He had been checking the bars near where Clark was last seen. God, he must have gotten plastered. He couldn't remember the end of the evening. An image of black silk hair flashed through his mind. A woman?! Had he? He closed his eyes and tried to focus his thoughts.
Brucie Wayne might have a reputation for great debauchery and depravity, but the reality was different. A few years ago, it had gotten to the point where he could no longer hide the scars. Both the mental and physical ones. Bruce couldn't do long term relationships. He had tried, but they didn't work - they clashed with the mission. The mission was his whole life. The one-night stands had stopped fairly soon after that. About the time they had founded the JLA, coincidently. The one-night stands had ended because finding reasons for his scars had become an annoyance. Also, he just hadn't wanted it any more. Enough of his dates made up stories about their adventures that his reputation hadn't changed. The truth, though, was that Bruce Wayne, billionaire playboy, had lost his libido. This was one of his biggest secrets. Well, he had lost it until last night, apparently. It had been back with a vengeance. It was a shame that his mind was only letting him remember that it had happened and wasn't giving him a Technicolor flashback.
Bah. This wasn't helping him find Clark. Whatever had happened last night, he needed to focus on finding Clark. Moping around the bars of Metropolis, pulling random women, wasn't doing anything to help the man he had grown to consider his best friend. He would go home and regroup.
Just as soon as his hangover had cleared.
Metropolis - Lou and Rita's Kitchen, 9:00 am, May 16
Rita tossed the pancakes in the pan on the stove in front of her. She was worried about her new lodger. Elle was a sweet girl - sweet in a way that you didn't see anymore. An air of almost innocence surrounded her. Which was surprising for a girl who made her money singing in a club. It wasn't that Elle didn't see the world; she did. It was that the girl had an un-shattering faith that if you looked deep enough and you could find good anywhere. Rita would have said this was naive, but oddly, when Elle looked for good, she found it. In the last seven days, Rita had found out more about her neighbourhood than she had in seven years. Elle had an astounding ability to make friends. But her normally perky lodger was defiantly out of sorts this morning.
“You okay, honey?”
Elle looked up, a fake 'I'm fine' smile on her face. “I'm okay, Rita. Late night, last night. That's all.”
“Come on, honey, I may have only known you for less than a week but I know you don't need much sleep. What's up? The club getting to ya? You don't have to stay there forever ya know?”
“It's not the club, really, I'm fine.”
Rita looked at her new friend suspiciously. Time to get out the big guns. “Come on, I know something is up. No pancakes till you tell me.”
“You're evil you know that?” Elle said while stifling a laugh
“So? Are you going to tell me?”
Elle sighed. “All right. But please don't think less of me.”
Rita bit her lip at how lost the poor girl sounded. “Don't worry, sugar. There isn't anything in the world you could have done that I ain't done worse.” She sat down and lifted Elle's chin so the girl was looking directly into her eyes. “Come on. You can tell me.”
“Well.” Elle took a deep breath. “While I was singing, there was this guy... I felt a connection to him. You know, from before?”
Rita shifted in her chair to get comfortable. If this was about to go where she thought it would, they were going to be her for a while.
Gotham - Batcave, 5:00pm, May 24
Alfred was worried. Master Bruce had been in the cave for the last 72 hours and was now passed out at the main computer console. It had been over two weeks since Mister Kent had disappeared. While not exactly unusual for one in their line of work, the fact that it was Mister Kent was doubly worrying. Firstly, there was no way he would disappear with out letting people know. Mister Kent had a good sense of manners. He would never willingly let others worry. The second issue was that Master Bruce's deep attachment to Mister Kent meant that he wouldn't rest properly till they had him back. If the worst happened - and Alfred desperately hoped it wouldn't, but a good butler prepared for all occasions - if they didn't find Mister Kent, Alfred worried that Master Bruce may finally snap. Master Bruce may not have acknowledged the extent of his friendship with the Kryptonian, but The Family all knew.
Because of this, they were all working overtime. The boys were doing their bit. Master Bruce had no need to worry about his beloved Gotham while he worked to find his friend. Miss Barbara was doing whatever it was she did with her computers and networks of eletronic things. And himself? Alfred smiled fondly at his almost son. He would do what he always did and take care of the things no one else thought to. Alfred unfolded a blanket and covered the sleeping form. He was careful to tuck in the corners so there would be no cold spots. Once this was complete, he refilled the Thermos with coffee, and left it and some fresh sandwiches where Master Bruce would see them when he woke up. That job done, Alfred headed back up to the Manor.
Metropolis - Rita and Lou's bathroom, 2:30pm, June 2
Elle stared at the two little blue lines. Was this really happening? She still didn't know who she was. All she did know was that she was pregnant. Pregnant with the child of some Gothamite mobster! Rita had helped her ask around. The man she had felt so connected to, so safe with, was Matches Malone - a cold, hard killer. She had known there was an edge to him, but this? At first, she hadn't believed it. But then, with more questions asked, it became clear. The man was no good. She knew Rita had desided that he had something to do with her memory loss. Maybe he had? How could she trust that he hadn't met her before that night? He certainly knew how to make her respond to him, how to make her body tingle from head to toe. Even thinking of it now was heating her blood.
Elle looked at the two blue lines again. This made no difference. If anything, it was just another reason to get away. She would take herself and her baby somewhere safe. Metropolis was too big and as much as she loved this place, it was now to close to 'Daddy'. The Midwest sounded nice. She could settle in a small, friendly town or something. But the sooner she left, the better.
Here for Part Four.