The Man Who Falls (7/10)

[mithen]

Title: The Man Who Falls (7/10)

Pairing/Characters: Clark/Bruce
Rating: PG-13
Warnings:  None needed
Continuity: The Dark Knight/Superman Returns crossover; a continuation of Leap of Faith.
Word Count:  2600Summary:  Clark Kent arrives in Gotham after the events of The Dark Knight and adds up the facts surrounding Bruce Wayne and Batman.

Comments

[sinisterf]

"Listen to me,." Clark felt a terrible urgency grip him, igniting his words, bright and blazing. "You and Batman, you're locked together in some kind of twisted cycle of revenge and redemption, but you have to let him go. You have to let Batman go, Bruce." Something flared in Bruce's eyes, something new and much more dangerous, but Clark kept talking, desperate, as if the force of his words could make him give up his vendetta, step away from the edge. "Don't let him use you, don't let him break you, Bruce. You give so much to this city, you're so...good, and brave, you deserve so much more than to throw away your life trying to be a symbol, when the real you is so...is so..." Beautiful, he wanted to say, and shied away from the word only to find loved there instead, and fell silent entirely, breathing hard and looking at Bruce's white face.I know this is a lot to quote, but this whole paragraph just hit me so hard. There's a truth there that Clark, at this point, doesn't know he's saying. And Bruce's reaction is perfection. He wants

[mithen]

Ahhh, thank you! I was really hoping to get that balance right, that Clark sees the Truth if not the facts correctly, you know? And Bruce struggling with his desire to be understood and his fear of it...this one took some re-writing and I'm glad the results worked for you! :D

[irrelevant]

What hurts about this so much is how relieved Bruce was for those precious few minutes when he was sure Clark knew his secret. And then... god.

Like being shown the thing you need above all others, then told it won't ever be yours.

But this is you, so I'm pretty sure he'll get it anyway. *grin*

[mithen]

What hurts about this so much is how relieved Bruce was for those precious few minutes when he was sure Clark knew his secret. And then... god.

I'm really glad that relief came through! It kind of ripped me up to write it, with Bruce being so torn by it, but edging toward relief until Clark kept talking (Shhh, Clark, he probably would have confessed if you hadn't kept talking!)

I would lay pretty good odds on Bruce and Clark both getting some version of what they want in this one. *grin*

[tabru]

Yay! I knew there would be an update today! I could feel it in the air! "Mithen's updating fics today," the air said. :D

Oh ohoh ohhhhh oh this hurts. This hurts in all the good ways.

First of all, Clark is the cutest person ever. EVER. OMG. His fedora! His sexy thoughts! (Assless chaps! Clark Joseph Kent, what would your mother say?!) Then trying to think unsexy thoughts! And being almost wrong and almost right. Ahhhh, Clarkie! He just wants Bruce to be saaaaafe!!!! <3

Second of all, Bruce is the most tragic person ever. Being so hopeful/nervous/but mostly hopeful that Clark knew the real truth made me cry sad tears!!! Bruuuuuuuce!!! Tell him the truth!!!! Let him save youuuuuuuuu!!!

(I was really feeling the drama on this one, LOL, can't you tell?)

The kisses were oh soooo sexable. And this:

He felt stitches under his fingers and realized he'd pushed Bruce's thin shirt up to reach the skin. The stitches were rough under his fingers and Clark started to follow them upward, a thorny path leading toward the heart. Bruce jerked

[mithen]

Yay! I knew there would be an update today! I could feel it in the air! "Mithen's updating fics today," the air said. :D

The air was correct! Trust the air!

First of all, Clark is the cutest person ever. EVER. OMG

LOL, the image of him being all "I am Being Sneaky! I shall wear a trench coat and a fedora to enhance my sneakiness!" cracked me up so much.

Second of all, Bruce is the most tragic person ever. Being so hopeful/nervous/but mostly hopeful that Clark knew the real truth made me cry sad tears!!!

Aughhh, I had to re-write this chapter a couple of times because I have a bad tendency to gloss over angsty bits, and I was originally like "yeah yeah Bruce is sad okay" and had to slow it all down, lol.

You know Bruce Wayne is in love when he allows someone to touch his scars. :D

Always, always a good sign for Bruce! And I'm glad you found the ending hopeful, I know Bruce was aiming for "downbeat" but Clark is totally undauntable in this series, it seems. :) Thanks so much for the awesome comment!

[navaan]

Aww, Clark coming so close to the truth again and still misinterpreting the facts he has.

And Bruce thinking his secret is out, only to discover that it's still save and, of course, making another decision to stay alone...

"Batman can't destroy me," he said. "And you can't help me." He leaned close and his lips caressed the shell of Clark's ear. "But thank you," he whispered, so low that he probably couldn't even hear his own voice. "For trying."

This was so heart breaking. I hope Clark will keep trying and in the end they will get over all the misunderstandings.

[mithen]

Aww, Clark coming so close to the truth again and still misinterpreting the facts he has.

Grrrr... *KICKS CLARK SO HARD* He's so frustrating in this one! Although Bruce being maddeningly elusive doesn't help, I guess.

This was so heart breaking. I hope Clark will keep trying and in the end they will get over all the misunderstandings.

I've got three chapters left to get them on the same page at last! Here's hoping! *grin* I'm really glad it's working for you and that you're rooting for them!

[northern_star]

lksdjlskdj! Claaaaaaark! You think you've figured it out, but you haven't silly boy! *giggles*

I love "misunderstandings" like this, when a character is so sure, but he's wrong -- it's always amusing, because we know what's really going on, and we see where they're wrong. Of course, in this case, I feel sorry for Bruce who thought he had someone he could confide in (another someone) *finally* but he's left with nothing, just like before.

I'm sure I'm going to enjoy that moment when Clark realizes that Bruce isn't planning on fighting Batman, but that he IS Batman. I think I'll enjoy it even more when Bruce finds out that Clark is Superman. *giggles*

Sooo loving this! <3 Thank you again so, so much for writing it - I couldn't even begin to tell you how grateful I am for it. :) (I noticed that it's gone from being a 6-parter to a 10-parter, which makes this awesome beyond words, btw! Thank you!)

[mithen]

I love "misunderstandings" like this, when a character is so sure, but he's wrong -- it's always amusing, because we know what's really going on, and we see where they're wrong.

I love reading and writing them myself, even if it can be incredibly frustrating! I don't know, there's that satisfaction to knowing that eventually things will somehow get untangled and straightened out...and yes, the reveals! I'm really looking forward to getting to those so much!

(I noticed that it's gone from being a 6-parter to a 10-parter, which makes this awesome beyond words, btw! Thank you!)

*grin* I was thinking six would be enough at first, but...the hole Bruce has dug himself into at the end of TDK apparently needs a fair amount of work to dig himself out of. (Plus I'm having a lot of fun with it!) I'm glad you7re enjoying it!