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Time was a fickle thing.
Just the smallest piece of information given at the correct moment could shed light on the past, change current events, or could even rewrite the future.
Clark saw the beam heading towards Bruce and wasted no time throwing himself in its path. He had barely a second the see hands reaching out towards him, hear a cry of his name cutting off, before his body seemed to invert on itself and he disappeared.
Batman stared at the empty space his teammate, friend, and more used to be, arm still outstretched.
“Round and round the clock he goes. When he’s landing, no one knows.” Turning on his heel, Batman strode over to the woman who’d caused this mess, the witch firmly held in Wonder Woman’s lasso.
“Where is he?”
The light from her staff didn’t seem technology based, rather magical, which opened up far too many possibilities for Bruce to run through offhand. He’d need to get back to his computer to start some simulations so he could find—
“You’re too late. Or perhaps you’re too early,” the witch said with a crazed laugh.
Bruce narrowed his eyes, aware the act couldn’t be seen through his mask. “Bring. Him. Back.”
“Silly little bat. I have no more control over time than you do. No one does.” Bruce watched as the woman seemed to crumble before his eyes, skin sagging and melting away until there were only bones in her place.
“Damn Spooky, that’s the fastest I’ve seen a woman try to get away from you,” Hal called out, shrinking back when Bruce turned his glare on him from where he was kneeling over the bones.
“Now is not the time, Lantern.”
Barry sped over, chiming in his own two cents.
“Hal, buddy. Learn to read the room.” Clapping a hand on his Hal’s shoulder for a moment, he quickly zipped over to Batman. “Any info to share with the class?”
Bruce didn’t look up from his analyzer. “These bones are dating at over a thousand years old.”
Green Lantern floated over towards the pair, reaching down to grab something. “Well obviously Miss Time Witch was using this to do her dirty work,” Bruce glanced at the weathered piece of wood in the man’s hands, “so I say we break it and maybe whatever happened to Supes will un-happen to him.” Hal raised the staff above his head, intent on snapping the wood over his knee.
“Don’t!” A portal appeared, seeming to rip open the very fabric of reality, and Zatanna ran through.
“Zatanna, do you know something about this?” Diana questioned her friend.
“Science is Bruce’s realm, magic is mine.” Batman crowded closer to the magician.
“What do you know? Where is Clark?” Zatanna sighed.
“The better question is when not where. I got tipped off that someone was messing around in old blood magic. Time magic.”
“Bring him back.”
“It’s not that easy!” Zatanna threw her hands in the air in frustration. “Magic is already a very delicate process. Add someone who has no clue what they’re doing to the mix and there’s no answer to how messed up shit can get. I want to help you, but—“ Bruce let out an angry growl. “BUT, I don’t know where he is. I don’t know when he is.”
Diana placed a hand on Zatanna’s shoulder. “Would breaking the staff return Clark to the now?”
“Only if Clark broke it. Like I said, this isn’t just time magic we’re dealing with. It’s blood magic. That kind of magic gets tied to its victims.”
“How do we find him? Track him?” Hal asked.
“We don’t.” Z’s stated with finality. “This kind of magic is unpredictable. There’s no telling when Clark got spit out. For all we know, he could be with the dinosaurs right now.”
“You said if Clark breaks the staff, he’ll return to the now?” Zatanna glanced back over at the Dark Knight.
“Yes? There’s not really a lot of successful cases to work off of and it’s not like we can visit every moment of time.” The fact that Zatanna had been able to glean this much information was already a huge deal.
“If we found when Clark was, could we go to him? Get him back?”
“Knowing a specific time and place is easier to get to, but Bruce... There’s no way to find out when he is!”
Batman turned his back, already thinking over the calculations.
“No matter how long it takes, I will find a way.”
Superman was no stranger to different timelines, he’d met enough alternate versions of himself to prove their existence, but it was rare he had a chance to step into the future.
When the world stopped spinning, Clark wasn’t quite sure where he was.
The city looked like Gotham, but something was off. Everywhere he looked, billboards and advertisements were showing new tech, new businesses, new faces Clark had never seen. A quick glance at a nearby scrolling news report confirmed his theory.
2068
Somehow Clark had travelled over 40 years into the future.
As the more recent past came rushing back to him, his first thought was of Bruce and before he even realized, his body was already on the move.
Following a heartbeat he would recognize anywhere, even if it did sound slower, Clark watched the city fade past as he made his way towards the outskirts of town.
Wayne Manor was still an impressive sight, but as he got closer, Clark could see where the years had finally begun to take its toll.
Flying through the old cave entrance, Clark thanked his lucky stars that this seemed unchanged until he touched down and realized that was the only thing unchanged.
Thousands of unfinished equations were scribbled on the walls. Broken equipment littered almost all surfaces. Books on magic and time were strewn about the room.
This cave was something more akin to a mad scientist’s lab than the one Clark remembered.
A pained cry and the sound of shattering glass drew Clark’s attention away from his observations.
Floating deeper into the cave, Clark found Bruce, older with more wrinkles and grey hairs than black, but still Bruce, leaning over a broken beaker on the floor.
Hovering so he wouldn’t make a sound to startle the other man, Clark should have guessed that age wouldn’t dull Bruce’s senses as he immediately glanced up with the movement.
Furrowing his brow in confusion, the older man simply stared a Clark for a beat.
“Dammit. I thought I got rid of you.”
Wait, what?
“Bruce?” Clark moved a little closer as Bruce threw his hands up in frustration.
“Great, now you’re talking.” Bruce turned his back, fiddling with the tablet before him, jotting something down. “It’s hard to prove you’re not going crazy when you keep hallucinating your biggest regret.” Bruce swiveled back towards Clark.
“How long are you going to stick around for, hmm? You certainly seem more tangible than the last one.” Bruce picked up another beaker and threw it. Had it not been for Clark’s reflexes, it would have smashed directly into his chest.
“Your aim is as precise as ever, even in your old age, huh?” Bruce cracked a wry grin.
“Who’re you calling old?” Clark beamed back.
“Maybe the silver fox in front of me? Wowee, are you still hot.” Bruce’s smile held for a moment longer before it slipped off his face.
“Stop it Clark. I need to focus. I can’t bring you back by talking to a ghost.” Turning his back on Clark once again, Bruce rose from his seat, grabbing his tablet and making his way towards the massive computer still taking up a good chunk of the cave.
Clark followed.
“Just talking? I thought we were flirting. Or at least I was.” Clark heard the skip of Bruce’s heartbeat.
“Acknowledging it is a mistake, that only feeds into the delusion,” Bruce mumbled under his breath.
“Bruce…” Clark frowned.
The older man whirled on him. “No! I will not have his memory tarnished by some manifestation of my guilt. I don’t care how long it takes, I’m bringing him back!” Clark’s eyes widened before he rushed forward, enveloping Bruce in his arms. Clark felt the other man stiffen as he tucked his face into Bruce’s neck, breathing in the scent of oil, paper, sandalwood, and that spicy after-note that he’d never been able to place, even after all their years together.
“I’m already here.”
Outwardly, the only noticeable change in Bruce was his stiffened posture. Inwardly, Clark could hear the racing of his heart, the staccato beat slightly worrisome given Bruce’s normal rhythm.
“Clark?”
The Kryptonian squeezed tighter as Bruce finally started to break down, reality crashing over him as he clutched desperately at Clark’s back, knees going weak.
“You’re here, oh my god. You’re here—“ Bruce ran his hands over Clark’s face, drinking him in like he was a man dying of thirst.
“I’m here, Bruce.”
Holding Bruce close, Clark mentally connected the dots, gathering that this Bruce, his wonderful partner who had already endured so much loss, had lost his Clark. It didn’t seem like the other him was dead, but was definitely somewhere Bruce couldn’t follow.
Clark’s heart ached, thinking about how many years Bruce must have been alone.
The alien didn’t know how much time had passed, but he held on for as long as the other man needed. Eventually Bruce pushed Clark back, but he didn’t let go entirely, almost afraid he’d disappear again.
“Bruce, what happened?” As Bruce explained the situation 40 years ago that led to this very moment and his theories about this current timeline, Clark felt his brows furrowing in confusion.
“Wait, but if you send me back, won’t that mean that you won’t have existed?”
“There was always going to be a universe where I sent you back Clark. And the Bruce you go back to will be me. But what you’ll be going back to isn’t going to be my reality. The man I am now was made from the grief your loss gave me. When you go back, that other me will hopefully never have to experience that grief.”
Clark’s eyes softened.
“But what about you?” Bruce chuckled humorously.
“I’ve lived 40 years longing for you. What’s a few more?” Clark reached out to cup Bruce’s face.
“Sweetheart, you don’t deserve that.” His eyes were firm. Bruce had to look away.
“I almost forgot how much of a Boy Scout you were. You always see the best in people.” Bruce considered his next words for a moment. “But I’ve done things you wouldn’t be proud of.” Clark’s could see a glimmer of shame flash across Bruce’s face before it smoothed out.
“Do you regret it?”
“No.” Bruce didn’t hesitate. “If it gave me even a chance to see you again, I couldn’t regret it.” Clark’s heart twisted in his chest.
“Earlier, you said something about your greatest regret…” Clark trailed off, not sure how to ask.
“I was going to propose that night.” Clark’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Had the whole thing planned out, was just working up the courage to ask.” Bruce looked down. “Obviously I didn’t get to.”
When Bruce finally glanced back up, he saw tears brimming in Clark’s eyes. Carefully he brushed them away with his thumbs, caressing the skin.
“Bruce-“ Clark’s voice trembled. “How can I leave you here?”
Bruce clasped Clark’s hands in his, holding them between their chests.
“Just tell me. If I asked, what would you have said?”
“Of course I’m saying yes, you big jerk!” Without hesitation, Clark surged forward, capturing Bruce’s lips with his own.
Kissing Bruce was as easy as breathing and Clark planned to do it for the rest of his life.
In between kisses, Bruce mumbled, “you know, one could consider this cheating.” Clark rolled his eyes.
“You won’t mind.” Bruce pulled back with a raised brow. “Okay fine, you will mind. You’re very jealous even if the person you’re jealous of is yourself. But I will make him understand. And if you’re gonna send me back, you deserve something good to remember me by.” Clark slid his hands from Bruce’s waist to his ass before a thought crossed his mind.
“Do you- do you not want me?” Bruce nearly smack Clark upside the head.
“Of course I do! I haven’t been waiting 40 years because I don’t like you.” Bruce looked away, slightly sheepish. “It’s just… It’s been a while.” Clark started preparing kisses over Bruce’s face.
“How long?” Clark moved to Bruce’s neck, worrying the skin between his teeth.
“How long have you been gone?”
That had Clark pause. Glancing up, he saw the sincerity shining in Bruce’s face and something in him snapped.
Quickly shredding Bruce’s clothes with his strength, Clark attacked each newly revealed piece of skin with a new fervor. Sucking marks into the other man, admiring them amongst the spattering of age marks, Clark couldn’t help but comment.
“Can’t believe you waited for me. That’s so hot.” Pushing Clark away for a moment, Bruce sent Clark a look that he’d always internally dubbed ‘the bat-glare.’
“I’m glad my torment is attractive to you.”
“Oh come on Bruce! You know it’s not like that. I hate knowing you went through so much pain and loneliness.” Clark softened his words with another kiss. “It’s just a very pleasant feeling to know someone so hot desires you for so long.”
Bruce sputtered.
“I am not hot.” Now it was Clark’s turn to glare.
Leaning back from where he had Bruce pinned against a desk, he took a long look, drinking in the other man.
Yes, Bruce was older, his hair was almost silver, his skin wasn’t as firm, his muscles had softened a bit with age, but by Rao did Clark feel himself salivating at the sight.
“You have been and will always be so beautiful to me. No matter your shape or your age.” Bruce felt heat at the tips of his ear as Clark stared adoringly at him.
“All this attention… just so you know, I might not be able to-“ he trailed off, looking down pointedly. Clark nodded reassuringly.
“That’s okay. Let me make you feel good sweetheart.”
A quick flight to the nearest cot and a rush for some supplies done, Clark had Bruce spread out before him, two fingers slowly pumping inside.
Like Bruce had warned, his cock didn’t seem to have any intentions of joining the party, but Clark didn’t mind. Instead, he took his time rubbing his fingers along Bruce’s prostate, watching precum pearl at the tip of Bruce’s dick in response before he licked it away.
“Clark, Kal-“ Bruce gasped, throwing his head back. “Come on. Get inside me. Been waiting too long.”
Clark nodded along. “Of course you have my darling. I’m here for you, I got you.”
With a quick thrust, Clark was buried balls deep inside the older man.
“Gah- fuck!” Bruce exclaimed as the length of Clark rubbed along his walls. “Been so long… missed this - missed you.” Clark kissed the corners of Bruce’s eyes where tears were starting to form.
“I’m so sorry, baby. I’m so sorry you’ve been alone.” Slow rolls of his hips were all he could manage as he tried not to fall apart. It didn’t matter for Bruce though as the sheer girth of Clark’s cock pressed against his prostate continuously.
More precum dribbled out of Bruce’s dick, slightly chubbed up at this point. The pair continued to ignore it, the deep thrusts from Clark taking all their focus.
Bruce clawed at Clark’s back when the pressure inside started to grow, saddened when his nails couldn’t break skin.
The closer Clark got to orgasm, the more he began to babble, soft words and praises, loving endearments, apologies falling from his lips.
“I love you so much Bruce, I love you, I won’t ever stop loving you, you’re doing so good for me baby…”
The pleasure was wracking through his body to the point Bruce could barely respond, but he choked out a simple, “I love you” and that was enough for Clark to cum, Bruce quickly following.
Holding himself still inside Bruce as the pleasure continued to wash over them, Clark didn’t want to move, knowing that would signal the end of their time with one another. He tucked his face into Bruce’s neck, as he attempted to pull himself together.
For his part, Bruce combed his fingers through Clark’s curls as he allowed them to sit with the moment, also wanting to prolong their time, knowing this would never lead to his own happiness.
Resigning himself to the ache in his heart, Bruce didn’t think before he spoke.
“Can I make a copy of your dick?”
As the sun rose on a new day in Gotham, the lovers found themselves watching as the morning rays hit the city, lighting it up.
“I wish I didn’t have to leave.” Clark knew he had to go back to his present, but that didn’t mean he was happy about leaving any Bruce behind.
Bruce squeezed the hand still entrapped in his own, unable to make eye contact but unable to let go.
“You know me, Clark. The other me would stop at nothing to get you back. I know I certainly didn’t.” Bruce glanced over. “At least this time I’ll have an accurate copy of you to keep me busy when I get lonely.” Bruce smirked at the blush rising on Clark’s cheeks, tinging even his ears red in embarrassment.
For as much as Clark thought the request was a joke, Bruce proved very serious in his ask, even going so far as to help the Kryptonian get to the perfect hardness for pleasure.
After spending a time watching the city wake up, Bruce allowed Clark to fly the pair back down to his cave.
If Bruce took a little more time scrounging for the old staff than he needed? Well Clark wasn’t going to judge.
Finally stepping in front of the alien and holding out his right hand, Bruce let Clark take the staff, but didn’t let go. He seemed to hesitate for a moment before he reached into his pocket with his other hand, grabbing something.
Bruce placed the object in Clark’s upturned palm, closing his hand around it.
“I don’t think keeping this around is doing me any good.”
Clark slowly opened his hand to reveal a simple ring. His eyes softened.
“Sweetheart…” Bruce swallowed.
Carefully placing the staff on the ground, Clark scrambled to reach into his own pocket, procuring a band of his own.
“It might be 40 years too late, but I think you should know that I was always going to say yes. In fact, it was me that wasn’t sure if you were going to say yes.”
“Of course I would’ve. I would’ve said yes to anything you asked.” Clark reached up to run his fingers along Bruce’s cheek.
“Then promise me you’ll stay alive? Don’t give up after I’m gone.”
Clark continued to brush away the stray tears he knew Bruce would never admit to.
“I will.” Bruce rocked forward to press his lips to Clark briefly before he pulled back. “Don’t leave the other me waiting too long. You still have to give him an answer.”
Clark glanced down to see the silver band shining on Bruce’s left hand.
“I think you already know what he’d say to you.”
Finally picking up the staff, Clark moved back a few feet, watching Bruce the entire time.
“I love you,” he said. “I’ll see you soon.”
With a sharp breath, Clark brought the staff down over his knee, snapping the wood. Time seemed to sizzle around him and between one breath and another, he was gone.
As Superman once again waited for the world to stop spinning, he held his breath. For as much as the other Bruce had explained it to him, there were no guarantees that he would land back in his own time, in his own timeline.
Opening his eyes, Clark yet again opened his eyes to the dark city of Gotham, but these sights were familiar. Looking at the date on a passing newspaper, it seemed he had only been gone for a day.
Aware that there was only one true way to check if he was really back, Clark sped off towards Wayne Manor.
The outside of the manor looked the same as it always had, no cracks that he could see, but these true answer was waiting inside.
With a feeling of deja vu, Clark once again made his way inside the cave entrance. Books on time travel and magic were again scattered all over the caves surfaces, equations written on the available whiteboards, but as he made his way further inside the cave, Clark was able to let out a sigh of relief as he saw a familiar shape perched in front of the giant monitor screens.
“Alfred?” The man said, not even bothering to turn around. “I told you, I’ll sleep when I find him. There’s only so many places a man like Clark could hide in time. If I can just figure out when, then I can… then we can get him back. I just need to-“ Bruce was cut off as his chair was spun around and the very man he was looking for was suddenly pulling him up into a hug.
“Clar-“ Bruce was cut off when their lips connected and he felt all of the tension of the last 24 hours seeping out of him. He raised his arms to hang around Clark’s neck, pulling them back together when Clark went to give him air.
Kissing Clark was way more important than breathing.
Eventually they did have to part, but Bruce made sure to suck in his lungfuls of air with their lips brushing.
“Yes!”
Bruce wasn’t sure if it was the lack of oxygen or the lack of context that had him confused.
“Yes?” Clark nodded, cupping Bruce’s face to kiss him once again.
“Yes, of course I’ll marry you!” Breathless from more than the kiss, Bruce was about to question how in the world Clark knew what he had been planning to ask when he glanced down and noticed the ring already gleaming on Clark’s finger.
Made from a chunk of the meteorite the duo stopped in their first outer space mission together, Bruce pieced two and two to figure out where, when, and with whom Clark had been.
“Do I need to be jealous?” Clark barked out a laugh.
“Of yourself? No. He helped me get back here to you after all.” Bruce had to concede that was usually an indicator that it wasn’t an evil doppelgänger.
“Did you fuck him?” Clark immediately went red.
“Bruce!”
“It’s an honest question. Assuming he was me from the future, he would have had to have been from a slightly alternative timeline where his Clark didn’t return, so obviously he was going to withdrawals.”
“Clark withdrawals? Seriously?” Bruce nodded matter-of-factly.
“I would’ve been in his situation. So? Did you?” Clark sheepishly nodded. “Great. Then you can tell me what I need to focus on to keep our sex life alive. As you know, there can never be too much data, especially when…”
Clark listened as Bruce started to go off on a tirade, glad to be back in his own time.
But he wasn’t afraid to admit there was a little voice in the back of his head began to prepare.
Bruce stared at the space where the young alien had disappeared. As much as he had tried to prepare, the pain of watching him leave again was sure to stick with him for the rest of his days.
Sighing, Bruce gave himself a moment of self-pity before he packed all the emotions into a tiny box and pushed them to the back of his mind.
Looking around the cave, he realized that part of what Clark had said was right. All of these books and pages and equations weren’t helping him live.
Deciding to start by cleaning everything up, Bruce has been working for barely half an hour before there was a flash of light.
Turning around, Bruce wasn’t quite sure what to think.
The man before him looked like Clark, but his hair was longer, more silver at the temples, more wrinkles around his eyes as he smiled at Bruce.
Glancing down, Bruce felt his breath catch at the sight of two bands adorning this Clark’s ring finger, before his eyes snapped back up.
“Hey sweetheart. Hope I wasn’t gone too long.”