Archive of Our Own

When Dick had found out after about two months of staying in the Manor he couldn't stop laughing for a week. The most powerful person in Gotham, the nightstalking Bat that shattered people's knee caps for a living, who everyone and their dog knew to be the city's most territorial and fierce alpha… Was actually an omega, and wasn't even really trying to hide it at all.

What? Bruce could take care of himself, and he refused to let his biology define him. So, in a sense, it was kind of an open secret. Bruce could and would ignore the nesting fever, spent plenty of his heats particularly aggressively punching criminals in the face with the help of some incredibly heavy duty scent blockers and even when he wasn't the Bat he still had a precise enough hold over his instincts and scent, not allowing unnecessary emotions to leak through. Granted, no one besides close family and friends really knew he was an omega. Bruce had one of those rare scents, one people strongly associated with alphas , all heavy rainfall and ash with a hint of metal, one that allowed him to coast on his playboy alpha reputation for years despite actually taking very few partners home. It worked well enough for his reputation, and he didn't have to deal with unnecessary assumptions and god forbid suitors. Not that people didn't try, still, of course. The money was quite the incentive, after all, even if one was an alpha, although everyone seemed to think Bruce would like a more… submissive partner.

Besides, Bruce had always been kind of bad at this whole omega thing anyway. Alfred had long given up hope for him having biological children of his own. Not that Bruce knew what the problem was, - Dick was right there. And he already tentatively considered Dick his son, even if the boy had refused to get adopted, and even if Bruce was like a C+ caregiver at best.

Still, when Bruce had finally decided to mention being an omega to someone outside the family, he didn't at all expect this.

Him and Superman have been working together for a while, now. From a tentative working relationship, one the Bat merely allowed out of convenience and the alien being particularly hard to avoid, living so close an all, it grew into a real partnership, one based on mutual respect and trust. Having Dick around helped. Whether Bruce wanted to or not, Superman, Clark, kind of helped raise the boy, aiding him in his hero career and awkwardly trying to sidestep all the hero worship. Even when Bruce and Dick had an awful falling out about Bruce basically firing Dick from being Robin Clark was there for the newly developed alpha. Bruce knew Clark had even given Dick his new hero name, and as, admittedly, jealous as he was over the two alphas' easy, cordial relationship, he was also glad that Dick had at least kept speaking to someone when he'd left Gotham for Blüdhaven.

Bruce may have also been developing feelings for Clark. Ones that were decidedly less platonic, and Bruce just felt it was time to let the alpha know of his true designation, even if nothing that he actually wanted could really happen between them. Clark had Lois, a beautiful, capable beta he was head over heels for, and Bruce was forever tied to Gotham, the city and its people always the priority, even above Bruce's personal wants.

The Justice League was still in its infancy when Bruce had casually mentioned to Clark that he was going to go on a heat leave. Superman was hovering close, simply floating in the air in a relaxed seating position, listening carefully in case Batman needed help, Bruce himself lying on a creeper under the Batmobile and tinkering with its complex underbelly.

Bruce was so busy with his work at first, he didn't even notice the resounding silence.

When he did, he'd carefully rolled himself from under the car, keeping a hand on it, Clark's baffled expression meeting him from a few ways away.

Bruce lifted a brow.

Clark opened and closed his mouth, soundless.

Then, Clark's face lit, as if he'd realized something, the Kryptonian chuckling awkwardly as he looked away.

“Ah, I see, I mean I- I didn't expect you to um, find a partner and not tell me earlier, but, uh… Congratulations?”

Something in Clark seemed a little deflated, as he said that, but for the first time Bruce was a little too stunned to process his friend’s micro expressions. But, whatever Clark saw in his face at that, he'd clearly read wrong, as he soon continued:

“Oh, don't worry, I'm not like sad that you didn't tell me or anything, it's just… Just unexpected. I know how you value your privacy and all. I'll… I'll get out of your hair, then. And don't worry, I'll tell the Justice League that you're going undercover or something. Uh, bye.”

And with that, Clark was gone, a whooshing of air the only sign that he'd even been there, Bruce's - detective my ass - brain catching up far too slowly.

So Clark thought….

Bruce's head hit the creeper hard, the man well and truly puzzled. The next day, when Bruce tried to call Clark and explain himself, the kryptonian managed to sound so extremely fake cheery and dismissive, immediately reassuring Bruce that his secret was safe with him and that he should go back to tend to his his omega, and Bruce was stumed, the call hanging up in annoying beeps.

Needless to say, Clark completely misinterpreted what Bruce had meant.

“Alfred.” Bruce asked, in utter bafflement, as soon as the call disconnected and he had some time to process. “Am I really that bad at being an omega..?”

The old butler straightened from where he was dutifully sweeping the floor of the batcave, only a twitch of his lips portraying his amusement at Bruce's plight.

“Most certainly, sir.”

And then Bruce had gone in heat, forgoing the usual safety measures again and going out on patrol, coincidentally stumbling upon a young pup who had been trying to steal his tires. An impressive hit in the stomach with the tire iron from said young pup and also maybe his hormones going a little haywire was all he needed to take the pup off the street and under his wing.

He was also maybe missing having Dick around a little.

Alfred had been unimpressed when he'd first laid eyes on young Jason Todd kicking and screaming about a kidnapping under Bruce's arm, but he just sighed, saying ‘I'll prepare a room, master Bruce’, too used to the craziness of their lives by now.

And if Jason had stared at him in wonderment upon realizing that Bruce was not in fact an alpha trying to hurt him and instead an omega who wanted to protect him, well…

At least he had three people who believed him now.

The second time wasn't actually meant to happen. Bruce had decided to himself that it was useless, especially when every time he had tried to tiptoe around the topic with Clark he was simply met with awkward chuckles and confused glances, the man's wall of denial so thick he could probably bash the Batmobile in it and it remained unscathed. Truth be told, it was also a little hurtful, knowing that the man he had feelings for his best friend didn't think you'd make a good, well… you. An omega. Even went so far as to find the mere thought of it kind of ridiculous. Then again, Bruce had quickly (and regretfully) learned that Clark wasn't the only one.

He'd just strode into the Watchtower cafeteria, some of the other Leaguers gathered here already, tired and milling about after their exhaustive space mission.

“Maybe we should recruit more omegas for the team.” Diana had said, sympathetically as Barry whined, facedown on the table.

Bruce couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that. The league didn't get in the habit of talking about secondary genders regularly, and something had been clearly said that warranted this line of conversation. His analytical mind was already trying to piece together what he had missed, and what problem could require such a solution.

Of course, Clark was the first one to notice him, gesturing him over to the table.

“B!” The man's face brightened, Bruce carefully not letting his heart do a flip at the smile sent his way as he stalked forward.

“Oh hey spooky, how gracious of you to finally join us.” Hal smirked, feet on the table, of course, and Bruce grunted out an annoyed “Jordan” that had the man roll his eyes under his domino and annoyedly take off his feet grumbling about the fact that they weren't even eating.

A chorus of greetings had rang out, Barry lifting his head to give a little wave, John, Dinah and Ollie all saying hello as Diana just smiled.

As Bruce sat down next to Clark, Barry flopped back onto the table.

“I was just saying.” The speedster continued. “Don't get me wrong, I think all of you are very cool, and I don't mind being surrounded by alphas and betas, but it does feel a little weird being the only omega on the team at times.”

Bruce paused where he was reaching for the screen in his gauntlet.

Of course, the Justice League did skew pretty heavily towards alphas, what with Clark, Diana, Ollie, Shayera and John being ones, Hal and Dinah both being betas. J'onn, for his part, did not have a secondary gender at all, which left him in a neutral beta-like position.

But Bruce was right there.

“You're not.” He said, resuming typing on his gauntlet.

The questioning glances he'd received made him pause in his typing.

“You're not the only omega.” Bruce clarified.

The table was unimpressed. Ollie had actually laughed, Dinah smacking him over the head, in admonishment, lightly, even if her lips twitched in amusement.

“Good one, Bats.” Hal snorted, “So where are you hiding our secret member, now?” Clark glanced at Bruce with a question in his eyes and Barry lifted his head in confusion.

Even Diana looked amused at Bruce's comment.

Bruce didn't share said amusement.

“I was referring to myself.” He said in a flat tone, and now people were actually laughing, both Jordan and Oliver doubling over. Barry couldn't help but snicker, too, everyone else in the group smiling as Bruce's self worth as an omega quietly plummeted down the drain.

“My god…” Hal barely managed through laughter. “Spooky, you're on a fucking roll today, wow. Didn't know you had it in you.”

For the sake of his sanity, Bruce had returned to his typing, the mood having been entirely lifted as the rest continued on chatting. Only Clark had thrown Bruce a single questioning glance, a soft little smile on his face that made Bruce want to crawl back to his cave and never come out.

He tried to not dwell on the fact that even their other teammates didn't believe him.

It was fine.

Everything was fine.

It became a running joke.

After that performance Bruce had completely given up, especially when both Dick and Jason had laughed themselves crying hearing a recounting of that story.

At least his sons found it funny.

Regardless, since then Bruce had fully leaned into the joke, continuously dropping little hints here and there that he was actually an omega, maybe especially leaning into it when he was around Clark, who had the weirdest reactions to his little ‘jokes’, because Bruce never said that he wasn't vindictive.

And then Jason had died.

Jason had died, and Bruce had lost himself in his grief, pushing away anyone and everyone, too stressed to even go through his body's natural heats anymore.

It didn't matter.

It didn't matter if Bruce couldn't have more children, because he'd lost two already, one a few years before meeting Jason and now Jason, his sweet little Jason, who was so kind, and caring, and would have probably grown up to be such a kind and incredible omega, despite Bruce's own numerous fuck ups.

Jason hadn't even presented yet, when they lost him.

If it weren't for Clark stopping him from killing the Joker, if it weren't for Tim's tiny, capable hands that should have never been made to bear all that weight Bruce might have lost himself forever then, too.

Slowly, Tim had helped Batman glue himself together.

He became the new Robin, through angry fights, shouting and so, so much rejection Bruce now wished he could take back.

But they were getting better.

Slowly, his family was healing through this unbearable loss, Dick once again tentatively starting to keep in contact, Bruce properly adopting both him and Tim after the Drakes’ unfortunate passing.

It took years. It took years, mending stuff with his family, with the Justice League, even with Clark.

And then miraculously, unbelievably and so suddenly Jason returned to them.

His little bird, all grown up now, a tall, capable and intimidating alpha in his own right that seemed to hate Batman's guts and had tried to kill almost everyone in the family at least once was back. And it took a long while for him to heal, too. He still hated Bruce, still loathed him with his very being, but at least he was talking to Alfred, to Dick, and even Tim at times.

Him and Bruce had fought hard about Jason killing criminals, and he was finally starting to dial back a little on that too, and at least if he wasn't killing people, if he was at least talking to other members of the family then Bruce was happy. He deserved all of Jason's hatred, but Jason also needed someone, someone who he could lean on even if it wasn't, couldn't be Bruce. And it didn't really matter how much Bruce had wanted it to be him, and it didn't matter that he'd never had a harder time resisting the urge to nest, to gather all of his kids, his pups under his wing, a terrible itch starting under his skin with the renewal of his heats.

Bruce himself had kind of forgotten he was an omega during those years.

And then one day, when Clark was talking about how things were going with Kon, how he and Lois have actually been separated for a few years now, and that John was both living on and off with him, Lois and his parents, Bruce remembered. Clark still didn't know.

And even if he'd still loved Clark, a constant, aching feeling in his heart, just one of many numerous aches he often felt throughout his body, and if Clark was unbonded, Bruce still was a terrible ass omega. Terrible enough for his best friend to be completely oblivious to it for almost a decade, now.

Bruce found a grim sort of humor in that.

So, the jokes started again.

Eventually, his kids had gotten wind of it too, joining in on the joke and openly telling their friends that yes Batman was in fact an omega in casual conversations, Jason's jokes on him being a terrible one maybe hitting a little too close to home. Not that Bruce minded. Jason was at least talking to him, now, so that was something. All Bruce could ask for, really, even if it mostly consisted of insults and barbs.

So, when he and Clark had been sitting in the Fortress one day, Clark leaning in a little too close, his sunny, warm scent of sunflowers and ozone enveloping Bruce in a comforting way that made him feel like he could melt in a puddle, Bruce maybe felt a little daring.

His heat was approaching. They had just turned somewhat regular, recently, Dr. Leslie looking at him with such exasperation for neglecting his health but congratulating him still on somehow not crippling his body permanently.

And besides.

It's not like Clark was ever going to believe him, anyway.

So he asked:

“Would you like to spend my heat with me?”

Surprised by the question and turning a peculiar shade of tomato, Clark sputtered.

“Wh-what?”

“I’m asking; do you want to spend my heat with me, Clark?” Bruce asked, with mock innocence, leaning closer to the stunned looking Kryptonian and letting a hint of playfulness color his scent.

It was amusing, seeing how much of a gaping fish Clark resembled at that moment.

Then, the Kryptonian shook himself out of it, cheeks still red but his brow creasing.

“Not funny, Bruce.” There was a fond kind of exasperation in his tone.

Bruce tried to not let the pang of disappointment show on his face or in his scent, leaning away.

“Pity.” He said, returning back to the crystalline display like nothing ever happened. Punching criminals it was. Even if for some reason both Jason and Tim had started trying their best to keep him away during heat, Jason even snapping at him to ‘go the fuck back to the Manor, old man’ the last time he'd encountered him in that state on patrol. Tim had also finally presented as a beta, a second one in their household, now, including Alfred, and he was slowly starting to take over a lot of Wayne Enterprises business, so maybe both of them just didn't want to deal with Bruce when his omegan qualities showed, on top of their duties. It was understandable.

At least the way Clark subtly fiddled with the top of his cape was amusing enough to make Bruce smirk, earning him an exasperated glance back from the Kryptonian.

And if Bruce had started laying it on a little thick, after that, when the two of them were alone, well, Clark only had his adorable reactions to blame.

By the fifth time he'd already received a surprise in the form of another son returning from the dead, an eight year old kid assassin suddenly thrust on his doorstep much to everyone's bafflement.

Okay, maybe this was on Bruce, he never should have trusted Talia or Ra's words. But, after spending a whole year captive with the League of Assassins’ back when Dick and him have still not been talking he just didn't expect that that was what they were actually after. 

Of course as soon as Damian had arrived things went bad pretty quickly, as most things regarding Bruce's parenthood tended to do.

Damian was a tough child to raise. Already a deadly assassin, still brainwashed enough to think Ra's words were law he managed to pick a fight with every single one of his siblings, Bruce not being prepared for any of the fallout and a little stiff around the kid due to the way he'd been conceived.

Thankfully, Dick was there, and Dick always made things better.

His oldest had picked up the things where Bruce had stumbled, and somehow they'd managed to integrate Damian into the family, shaky though as it had been, Alfred the ever dutiful grandfather smoothing the things between all of them where he could.

So Bruce had felt hopeful. The League had been thinking of expanding their roster, a thing that was long overdue but required the careful selection and vetting of the new potential heroes. Everyone already on it had grown to be close friends and confidants, people Bruce trusted implicitly, even if his contingencies were in place for a reason.

The Justice League was having a party. All of them were out of costume, having been invited to the Queen family Estate for a celebration of Dinah's birthday, some of their kids also milling about the property. Clark was supposed to watch Jon today, so the young pup and Damian had run off together, and Bruce was already mentally calculating the probable resulting damage to the property in his head. It was sweet that the boys had become fast friends upon meeting. Damian really needed friends, and Bruce really didn't want the boy to turn out like he did, at that age; angry, unsociable and sad.

The conversation had been light, and they even brought some drinks capable of affecting their metahuman companions. Somehow, it delved into the realm of discussing their past romances and flings, a few Leaguers particularly excited to hear about Bruce's long and, admittedly, unfortunate gallery of rogues that he'd slept with. Bruce was pretty open about it, nursing his third drink of the night.

It's not like it was a secret. All of those rogues, from Catwoman to Two-face and Ghostmaker knew of his true designation and his closest friends, - except maybe J'onn - somehow didn't. It was a little funny. He kind of wished Selina was here, she'd probably get a kick out of this whole thing, even if they were still on kind of bad terms after their last break up. Actually, scratch that, she'd probably get a kick out of it precisely because of their last break up.

“Bruce, if you don't mind me asking, how come you never mentioned Damian's birth mother?” Ollie asked suddenly, looking towards the door the kids had disappeared behind about half an hour prior and Bruce couldn't suppress an amused twitch of his lips.

“I’m the one that gave birth to Damian.” Earning a few laughs from around the table.

“You have the weirdest sense of humor, man, but fine, keep your secrets.” Ollie grinned, and Bruce had only just noticed that Clark's already flushed from the alcohol face had gotten a shade darker. They were sitting next to each other, like they so often tended to, knees almost touching, and by this point it took everything in Bruce not to just reach out and-

“But seriously,” Hal said, breaking Bruce out of his thoughts. “You have so many kids, Bats. All these you being an omega jokes are starting to sound waaay too real.”

Bruce just smirked.

“That's an outdated stereotype, Jordan.”

Hal lifted his hands in mock surrender, still grinning, but Bruce couldn't help adding, maybe a little too sincerely;

“Not that I would mind having more.”

Now the whole room was laughing before quickly switching to Barry and Iris’ business, the speedster happily talking about his other omega half and their plans for the upcoming anniversary, Bruce refusing to look at Clark no matter how much he'd wanted to.

Of course, the truth had finally been revealed when Bruce had wanted it least.

The League had been stuck in space for a month. A month, and in close proximity with Kal, because of course everyone else had decided that the World's Finest sharing a room and a bed on the Javelin would be a great idea. Bruce had tried to protest, but honestly, by this point he was a little reluctant to share the truth of his designation, an uneasy feeling churning in his gut at the mere thought.

Joking about it was one thing, and actually revealing how much of a failed omega he was was another.

So he'd stayed quiet and tried to spend as much time away from their shared room as he could, away from Clark's intoxicating scent that permeated every inch of it, barely sleeping and almost completely taking over the pilot duties, the League stranded in an unknown part of the cosmos.

He'd seen how much of a kicked puppy look Clark had given him every time he had tried to broach the subject of Bruce sleeping more, or Clark leaving the room if he'd felt uncomfortable about Clark being there but Bruce had dismissed him every time, saying that he's just trying to get them back home.

The supplies were running low, even with the metahumans in their team not needing that much food in the first place, except Barry, who'd been particularly struggling with his calorie deficiency since he also needed to serve as the Javelin’s backup energy source. Everyone who'd been sent on this mission were split into the few rooms they had;  Barry, alone, so the omega didn't feel like anyone was intruding on his nest, Hal and John, then Shayera and Diana. And, of course, Bruce and Clark.

It was a nice arrangement.

Or, at least, it would have been if Bruce was an alpha people actually thought him to be.

And his body just couldn't help reacting to Clark, foolish as it was, the proximity of the alpha and the feeling of mate-mate-mate that he got around Clark that even Batman had not yet figured out how to deal with.

Needless to say, by the time they had finally reached their own solar system Bruce was very much in early heat, his scent going wild where he was cooped up in the pilot cabin, hoping that they would make it in time without anyone noticing and he could get the heck out of here, out of Clark's maddening proximity, all the decontamination protocols he himself had painstakingly written out for space missions be damned.

Bruce was never that lucky.

A transmission from the Watchtower came in, J'onn’s calm, but decidedly happy to hear from them, tone asking the passengers to identify themselves.

The door to the cockpit had opened with a telltale whooshing sound, John stepping in with Shayera, and Bruce had a feeling that the rest would soon follow, the two alphas freezing immediately upon entry.

The smell of omega in heat was unmistakable, Bruce's arms wracked with the smallest of tremors on the wheel, way too early into the heat.

“Oh my stars…” Shayera breathed out, after the realization had struck, and the pause was great enough for J'onn to ask, worriedly:

“Is everything alright? We need you to identify yourselves.”

John had shaken out of his stupor, swallowing thickly as Bruce grunted, rattling off the codes needed to be granted access.

“We’ll… Go notify the rest of the crew about the landing. Batman, do you need someone to take ov-”

“No.” Bruce immediately cut off, already dreading what was about to happen. 

“Okay.” John's voice came, carefully neutral, and Bruce didn't turn to look at his fellow heroes’ faces before they left, something akin to tired resignation settling in his gut as he landed the Javelin.

At least that and the decontamination process gave him enough time to compose himself before he'd stepped out of the Javelin and into the docking port, the entirety of the senior members of the Justice League having gathered there already, because of course they had.

The very second he'd stepped out the people around him started looking like his scent hit them like a truck.

Bruce scowled.

Unconsciously, his eyes had found Clark, who'd been standing there, with his mouth hanging open, looking like a deer in headlights. Even his pupils had dilated as he tried to make an aborted movement towards him, stopping and swallowing thickly at the last second.

His expression looked horrified.

“What?!” Bruce snapped, feeling a little unsteady on his feet. The scents of multiple alphas and betas and one single omega assaulted his nose, but he couldn't help picking out that warm, sunny scent among them, even if he tried carefully controlling his breathing.

Even knowing that Clark's scent alone was what had sent him into heat he'd been a little miffed at just how intense everything suddenly felt, his head starting to get a little cloudy.

“What the fuck!” Hal exclaimed, his eyes wide like saucers. “Spooky you- You-!”

Bruce rubbed at his eyes tiredly.

“Yes, Hal.” He said, simply. “It's exactly what you think.”

“Bruce, why didn't you tell us anything sooner?” Diana exclaimed with righteous indignation. “We would never have put you and Clark in the same room have we known-”

The amazon had cut herself off, suddenly piecing it all together, the faces of the other leaguers showing much of the same.

Bruce just lifted a challenging brow.

“Ohmygod.” Clark breathed. “Oh my,- Rao - you were telling us from the start…”

Then, his unique blue eyes turned impossibly wide.

“But- But then…” Clark had stepped forward with indignation. “Bruce! Were you spending your heats on the streets of Gotham?! Do you have any idea how dangerous that is!?”

Bruce scowled further.

“I am capable of taking care of myself, Kal. ” He growled, but the anger was diminished a little because Clark stepping even a little further had brought him a whiff of his scent and Bruce swayed, like an amateur, cursing himself for such an oversight, a few hands immediately reaching out to steady him but aborting their movements, not sure of how Bruce's inner omega might react.

Ollie cringed. “Ugh, sorry about all the earlier comments, Bruce. We… We genuinely thought you were joking. Heck, I.. I have known you the longest, and yet I have no idea how we must have missed that. ”

“I'll notify the Batcave. One of your kids could come pick you up.” Dinah said, already typing on her tablet.

“I can walk fine myself.” Bruce had grunted, annoyed, even if all the fight, along with all his energy was quickly draining out of him.  Okay, maybe he wouldn't mind help this time, actually. “And it's fine. I know I make a shitty omega. I don't blame any of you for thinking so.”

Somehow, Bruce had missed as the people around him froze. When he looked up (when had he looked down..? He'd been concentrating a little too much on not letting his breathing get labored) he saw concern and shame written on his friends’ faces.

“Bruce…” Diana had started, but Barry was already stepping forward to help him, his omega scent comforting and easiest on Bruce's oversensitive nose.

“We'll talk about this later.” Clark said, something determined in his eyes, his authoritative Superman voice making Bruce shiver. Thankfully, Barry hadn't said anything to the others about that. “We need to get you back home first.”

It wasn't long before Barry had stepped away to let Dick and Jason take over, both of them coming rushing from the zeta tubes, Jason mumbling something about stubborn old men but Bruce completely missing it because Jason was here, and Dick was, too, and his pups were close and his mind had gone blissfully blank as he nuzzled into both the their necks, scenting them as he was practically carried away by his two eldest sons. Thankfully, Bruce had remained completely oblivious to the Justice League staring after them in wonder.

Bruce had never experienced a stronger heat in his life.

When he'd come to, a few days later, he was surprised that he'd even attempted at making a nest, something that had never happened before, no matter how out of it Bruce previously had been, his first attempt at it rather pathetic looking and making shame crawl up his spine. Even still, it felt… Nice, and it smelled of his sons and Alfred, a few articles of clothing they'd probably gotten for him strewn around in a messy pile of pillows and blankets. Some of their scents even lingered on pillows, so Bruce guessed that he'd probably forced them to lay down with him, so he'd definitely have to apologize to his boys for that.

As soon as Bruce was out and about, he'd learned that there were a bunch of messages meant for him from the League. People were inquiring about his health, just generally asking about when he'd stop by the Watchtower and it made him roll his eyes in annoyance. They should know by now that he didn't welcome their fussing, whether revelations have been had or not.

Still, for some reason he felt dread at the idea of going back up there and facing them. So he decided to shelve that for now.

Batman had places to be and a whole city's worth of work to catch up on.

Unfortunately, when he'd stepped foot in the cave, he found probably the last person he'd wanted to see at the moment, Clark standing next to the row of monitors and talking to Tim and Dick about something. A chill went down his spine and he almost turned back, but of course, it was useless, because Clark was Superman, and Superman had learned the sound of Batman's heart years ago, for whatever reason.

“B!” Clark said, and Bruce had resigned himself to whatever conversation this was gonna be. In hindsight, he should definitely not have flirted with Clark quite as shamelessly, under the guise of jokes about being an omega.

“Oh, good, you're awake!” Dick beamed, Tim nodding before asking Bruce how he was feeling.

“Fine.” Bruce grumbled making his way forward and towards the batchair. He was already here, might as well try and do some work. Maybe Clark would go away if he thought he was busy.

"You were really out of it.” Tim frowned. “We should probably do some tests or at least have you visit Leslie, just in case-”

Bruce had levelled him with a flat glare, but the boy didn't even react.

“He's right.” Dick piped up. “And we'd also like to talk to you about what Clark had told us.”

The young alpha crossed his arms, not leaving any room for an argument, despite the fact that Bruce would have really liked to have one.

“But!” Dick exclaimed. “That can wait. Clark, here, wanted to talk to you about something.”

“I did.” Clark said, starting to float, a little in a way that meant the kryptonian was nervous.

Bruce levelled them all with a glare. It was highly ineffective. Tim just slipped off from where he was sitting on the table, suddenly leaning down to give Bruce an awkward hug and awkwardly rub at his neck a little, Dick doing much the same after.

Bruce couldn't help but stare after them in awe as they left, both saying their goodbyes and disappearing up the stairs. He was so stunned by the sudden physical affection for a moment, his chest filling with warmth that he didn't even react when Clark sat lightly on the table beside him, his smile a little tense.

“So..” Clark started, “I… I wanted to apologize as well for not believing you sooner.”

Bruce sagged in his chair, feeling a building headache.

“Clark, it's fine. I already told you and the League that it is. Besides, I knew you all thought I was joking. I let you think that.”

Clark shook his head.

“No, B, it's not fine, I- I made you go into heat by sharing a room with you , and what if we didn't land as soon as we did, what if you had to go through that in space and on low rations-”

“Clark.” Bruce had to stop him right there. “Again. It was fine. I didn't tell you because I thought it was going to be alright, I've spent plenty of my heats being active, and it was an oversight on my part.”

Clark was frowning deeply.

“I still can't believe you had spent your heats patrolling. If- If any of your rogues got even a whiff of that-”

“ Kal .” Bruce said, his tone harsh. “I told you. I know what I'm doing and I know my own limits.”

For a moment, they sat in a tense silence, right until Clark finally deflated under Bruce's harsh stare.

“I.. I know. I just worry for you. You know that.”

Bruce's pride warred with the fluttering of his heart. He stayed silent, lips pursed at how sad and defeated Clark looked with each passing second.

“I'm sorry.” Clark said. “I'll… I'll get out of your hair soon. I just want to know, why did you do it?”

Bruce blinked.

“Do... What?” He asked and Clark rubbed at the back of his neck awkwardly.

“I mean you… All these years you used you being an omega with me, with the League - everyone - as a joke. I just… I guess I just don't understand why.”

Impossibly blue eyes stared back into his own, and Bruce suddenly felt his mouth go dry as he drowned in those depths.

Maybe it was smart that Clark wore tinted glasses. Bruce always thought that his eyes were dangerous, way too dangerous for him, even without the heat vision.

“I wasn't joking.” Bruce's mouth had run faster than his brain. And only seconds later had Bruce realized his own fatal mistake.

Clark's eyes went wide.

Bruce was in a similar state of shock, immediately wanting to backpedal, but Clark could already hear the subtle speeding of his heart, and-

He could practically see Clark replaying all their conversations in his memory.

“Then- Then when you asked me to spend the heat with you…” Clark breathed out, barely audible, and Bruce could feel his whole face going red.

All of his training, all painstakingly gathered control over his body, only for it to fail him at that moment. He looked away, frowning and cursing himself for not thinking ahead, for not playing it off as a joke or something.

Their friendship would end.

Now… Now Clark knew he was interested in him, and no way Clark would want to stick around a guy who had lied to him to his face, who was just a broken, defective omega-

“Clark…” Bruce tried, an apology already on his tongue, but Clark beat him to it.

“I thought you were making fun of me and my unrequited feelings…”

Bruce's head snapped up. 

Clark was looking at him with amazement, his face red, and then suddenly, Clark was placing his palms on the hand rests of Bruce's chair, gently bracketing him in as he leaned close.

“I- I thought you weren't interested in being with another alpha, or, well, I guess that you weren't interested in me, and…”

Bruce was pretty sure his brain was short circuiting. Clark was close, and he…

“Am I reading this right…?” Clark had asked, still a little nervous.

And Bruce had finally let himself reach out, hand tracing the side of Clark's face and tilting it to his liking.

“You sent me into the worst heat of my life, Clark. What do you think?”

And then they were kissing. They were kissing, and it was everything, the warmth of Clark pressing him into the chair, a purr rumbling deep in Bruce's throat and…

And then there was a sound of a metal thing hitting something hard, Bruce immediately looking up as the Red Hood helmet had bounced off of Clark's head painlessly.

Clark was dazedly blinking at Jason, somehow neither of them noticing the motorcycle arriving into the cave.

“Get the fuck away from my dad!” Jason screamed, enraged and already pulling the gun on Clark, an embarrassed kryptonian putting his hands in the air in surrender despite being impervious to bullets.

And if in the next moments all of his other kids came rushing in, Dick having to wrangle both an enraged and protective Jason and Damian, who'd just learned of what happened, and Tim was levelling Clark with an unimpressed stare, then Bruce had finally allowed himself to laugh, heartily, his scent filling the room with contentment and joy for the first time in a long while.