Fic: Claim #113
Title: Green-Eyed Monsters
Author: merfilly
Claim No.: 113
Prompt: Bruce interacting with Clark and Lois, jealous Bruce extra.
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1013
:-:
His first impulse, as always, was to decline the polite offer. He knew Kent only offered out of some ingrained sense of manners. After all, why on earth would millionaire Bruce Wayne want to sit to dinner with two investigative reporters like Clark Kent and Lois Lane?
"That sounds like a wonderful idea," Bruce found himself saying, despite a complete lack of enthusiasm. Lois's smile at him grated his nerves; yes, he had gotten entangled with her before, but it had never been more than a reason to…
He jerked his thoughts out of that pattern immediately, listening to Kent tell him just where they lived, and what time to come by, as if Bruce did not know exactly where the Kent-Lane apartment was.
He was glad of other engagements to step away, to get out of their presence, cursing himself for a fool in his mind as he did. The solid curses never stopped, until he was down in the limo, Alfred's personality a soothing anodyne to his emotions.
//Why in all that is sacred am I having these…responses? I don't do emotions.// He looked out the window as they passed through Metropolis's streets.
He knew, under harsh self-analysis, just what his problem was. It was one so typically human, one that had caused wars from time immemorial.
He was jealous. Beyond, he corrected ruthlessly. Obsessed was more the correct word for it. From the minute it had been obvious, when he had seen the wistfulness Lois had for Superman all those years ago, Bruce had been jealous of Lois Lane. And he had seen his worries borne out, when Clark had finally admitted who he was to the woman, and a steady romance had blossomed between the reporters. Bruce had merely sat back, ruthlessly clamping down on the voice that said they were doomed to failure, if it was the alien, and not the man, she was in love with.
:-:
The door opened, and Clark stood there, his shirt undone by two buttons, the tie gone, looking entirely too relaxed when Bruce felt he was on pins and needles.
"Hi, Bruce." Clark smiled, and the Gotham Prince tried hard not to scowl in turn. He held up the bottle of wine, as he forced an easy smile to his lips.
"Hello, Clark." He edged past, once Clark moved enough to let him in. Lois was in the door to the kitchen by then, and he turned his charm on her. "Lois, it smells so good! You amaze me, with all that talent and then you cook too!"
"Oh stop!" She smiled as Clark brought the wine to her. "Not bad, Bruce…only worth a month's pay for me," she teased. He bantered back with her over the wine, as his eyes noted the mixed décor of the apartment.
Pieces of Clark's life mingled with Lois's everywhere, from reporting awards to diplomas on the wall, to one of those multi-snapshot frames with both their families represented in it. When Lois went back in the kitchen, Clark came out with a glass for them each, settling on the couch with his friend.
"Lois was so glad you accepted this time." Clark looked at him through those fake lenses that obscured the handsome features beneath them. "She had it in her head you didn't like her anymore."
//I don't. She's got you, every night.// "Oh that's ridiculous. I have nothing but respect for Lois's capabilities." Bruce sipped his drink, trying to look as relaxed as his casual turtleneck and slacks gave the appearance of. He knew he had his heart and breathing under control; that was second nature whenever Clark was near. It would never do to let his secret slip.
Clark gave him a shrewd glance, and Bruce cursed inwardly again. He knew Clark was mulling over his choice of phrasing, making him move quickly through a series of verbal reassurances.
"After all, Clark, I would have been quite content to sweep her away to Gotham." //Away from you.//
Clark laughed, remembering that early, shared adventure. "Gotham lacked something," he teased. "Something bright, red, blue, and yellow."
//Don't I know it?// "You have a point," Bruce said, accepting the tease. When Lois called them to dinner, he resolved to get through this as swiftly as he could, ill at ease surrounded by the evidence of the happy couple.
The couple that was not him with the man he wanted, the man he had watched over and fallen for in the course of saving each other's lives a million times. A couple made up of an extraordinary man and his inquisitive, hyper intelligent but oh so abrasive woman.
Bruce only barely managed to not grind his teeth. He took his place at the table, watched Lois be seated by her small-town boyfriend and smiled politely. At times, he was surprised the pair had not gotten married, to keep Clark's morals intact…and as the thought passed his mind, he felt awash with a cold feeling of loneliness. The day these two did marry…there was a strong chance that was the day the Bat won.
How he made it through dinner, discussing the inanities of normal life, as well as the more notable current news topics, he would never know. Nor was he sure how he handled it when it was Lois who saw him out, as Clark went to wash the dishes.
"Bruce." Lois's voice stopped him, to see she had stepped out in the hall.
"Yes Lois?"
"Don't be such a stranger." Her violet eyes were guarded for some reason. "Clark doesn't have many friends on a really close footing." When Bruce did not answer, she shook her head. "You might be the only one he would want to come into our apartment and have dinner with," she pointed out. "So don't stay away so much."
He regarded her a long moment, and swallowed the bitterness in his throat. "I'll look into it, Lois. Good night." With that, he left the floor, left the building, and returned to the shadows where he could brood.
Author: merfilly
Claim No.: 113
Prompt: Bruce interacting with Clark and Lois, jealous Bruce extra.
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1013
:-:
His first impulse, as always, was to decline the polite offer. He knew Kent only offered out of some ingrained sense of manners. After all, why on earth would millionaire Bruce Wayne want to sit to dinner with two investigative reporters like Clark Kent and Lois Lane?
"That sounds like a wonderful idea," Bruce found himself saying, despite a complete lack of enthusiasm. Lois's smile at him grated his nerves; yes, he had gotten entangled with her before, but it had never been more than a reason to…
He jerked his thoughts out of that pattern immediately, listening to Kent tell him just where they lived, and what time to come by, as if Bruce did not know exactly where the Kent-Lane apartment was.
He was glad of other engagements to step away, to get out of their presence, cursing himself for a fool in his mind as he did. The solid curses never stopped, until he was down in the limo, Alfred's personality a soothing anodyne to his emotions.
//Why in all that is sacred am I having these…responses? I don't do emotions.// He looked out the window as they passed through Metropolis's streets.
He knew, under harsh self-analysis, just what his problem was. It was one so typically human, one that had caused wars from time immemorial.
He was jealous. Beyond, he corrected ruthlessly. Obsessed was more the correct word for it. From the minute it had been obvious, when he had seen the wistfulness Lois had for Superman all those years ago, Bruce had been jealous of Lois Lane. And he had seen his worries borne out, when Clark had finally admitted who he was to the woman, and a steady romance had blossomed between the reporters. Bruce had merely sat back, ruthlessly clamping down on the voice that said they were doomed to failure, if it was the alien, and not the man, she was in love with.
:-:
The door opened, and Clark stood there, his shirt undone by two buttons, the tie gone, looking entirely too relaxed when Bruce felt he was on pins and needles.
"Hi, Bruce." Clark smiled, and the Gotham Prince tried hard not to scowl in turn. He held up the bottle of wine, as he forced an easy smile to his lips.
"Hello, Clark." He edged past, once Clark moved enough to let him in. Lois was in the door to the kitchen by then, and he turned his charm on her. "Lois, it smells so good! You amaze me, with all that talent and then you cook too!"
"Oh stop!" She smiled as Clark brought the wine to her. "Not bad, Bruce…only worth a month's pay for me," she teased. He bantered back with her over the wine, as his eyes noted the mixed décor of the apartment.
Pieces of Clark's life mingled with Lois's everywhere, from reporting awards to diplomas on the wall, to one of those multi-snapshot frames with both their families represented in it. When Lois went back in the kitchen, Clark came out with a glass for them each, settling on the couch with his friend.
"Lois was so glad you accepted this time." Clark looked at him through those fake lenses that obscured the handsome features beneath them. "She had it in her head you didn't like her anymore."
//I don't. She's got you, every night.// "Oh that's ridiculous. I have nothing but respect for Lois's capabilities." Bruce sipped his drink, trying to look as relaxed as his casual turtleneck and slacks gave the appearance of. He knew he had his heart and breathing under control; that was second nature whenever Clark was near. It would never do to let his secret slip.
Clark gave him a shrewd glance, and Bruce cursed inwardly again. He knew Clark was mulling over his choice of phrasing, making him move quickly through a series of verbal reassurances.
"After all, Clark, I would have been quite content to sweep her away to Gotham." //Away from you.//
Clark laughed, remembering that early, shared adventure. "Gotham lacked something," he teased. "Something bright, red, blue, and yellow."
//Don't I know it?// "You have a point," Bruce said, accepting the tease. When Lois called them to dinner, he resolved to get through this as swiftly as he could, ill at ease surrounded by the evidence of the happy couple.
The couple that was not him with the man he wanted, the man he had watched over and fallen for in the course of saving each other's lives a million times. A couple made up of an extraordinary man and his inquisitive, hyper intelligent but oh so abrasive woman.
Bruce only barely managed to not grind his teeth. He took his place at the table, watched Lois be seated by her small-town boyfriend and smiled politely. At times, he was surprised the pair had not gotten married, to keep Clark's morals intact…and as the thought passed his mind, he felt awash with a cold feeling of loneliness. The day these two did marry…there was a strong chance that was the day the Bat won.
How he made it through dinner, discussing the inanities of normal life, as well as the more notable current news topics, he would never know. Nor was he sure how he handled it when it was Lois who saw him out, as Clark went to wash the dishes.
"Bruce." Lois's voice stopped him, to see she had stepped out in the hall.
"Yes Lois?"
"Don't be such a stranger." Her violet eyes were guarded for some reason. "Clark doesn't have many friends on a really close footing." When Bruce did not answer, she shook her head. "You might be the only one he would want to come into our apartment and have dinner with," she pointed out. "So don't stay away so much."
He regarded her a long moment, and swallowed the bitterness in his throat. "I'll look into it, Lois. Good night." With that, he left the floor, left the building, and returned to the shadows where he could brood.