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Bruce is tired. It’s the kind of tiredness that no amount of sleep could ever solve. One that settles in his bones and wears him down until he feels like nothing good will ever happen. It’s a tired he’s used to, one he once struggled with for years after his parents died and he had to be the one to shoulder everything himself. It’s a feeling he hasn’t struggled with in a long time, especially not after he started dating Clark, but it seems like it’s back with a vengeance. Which certainly is ironic.
He thinks it started a month ago when he had back to back Wayne Enterprises meetings for days. Usually he’s not stuck in the office nearly that much and it wears on him quickly to be stuck with a bunch of people that don’t think all that highly of him and act like he has no idea what he’s doing. He had hoped that once it was over he’d be able to recuperate but instead he was pulled in many different directions all at once.
Gordon needed him to study a case and try and help stop a drug ring that was targeting children. The Rogues had come not once but twice and Bruce had to go out to help the others fight against them. The Justice League needed help with some invasions and to stop some villains on the other side of the world. It was all just too much all at once and left him feeling like he’s being pulled in too many directions with no time to rest between them.
It makes his mind turn against him, making him think thoughts that he hasn’t thought of in a very long time. Thoughts about how he isn’t truly helping one but rather just impairing them. Thoughts about how he’d be better off not doing any of this and just giving up on everything. But he refuses to give in to them, he has people he loves and he wouldn’t do that to them. So instead he buries himself in the case Gordon gave him.
But it’s gone cold, Bruce hasn’t been able to find any new evidence for it in a week and all the leads he thought he had have led to nothing. He’s been burying himself in it for days, doing nothing else, and as he stares at the batcomputer his head aches. He’s not sure what to do but he knows that he has to solve this case, it’s important. A particular hard throb behind his eyes makes him squeeze his eyes closed, burying his head in his hands. It’s too much, everything is. He just wants it all to stop. He wants to have a moment of nothing going on at all.
“Bruce?”
He pulls his head out of his hands to look at Clark, who is floating his way down to stand next to Bruce. “What’s wrong?” Bruce asks, glancing at the mug that Clark is holding.
“Nothing is, I just figured you could use something to help you feel a little better,” Clark explains as he holds the mug out. “I know you haven’t been feeling the best lately, I think you need a break.”
Bruce can pick up on the smell of hot chocolate wafting from the cup, it’s something he likes to have when he’s not feeling well as a way to soothe himself. But he doesn’t deserve that at the moment and instead ignores the urge to reach out and take it, turning back to the computer screens. “No, I need to finish this.”
“Sweetheart you’re working yourself to death, you’ve got to take a break or you’re going to make yourself sick,” Clark argues. “I’ve told the Justice League not to contact you for a few days and I’m sure Dick can look over the case for you and Jason can handle Batman patrols. You need to take a rest.”
Bruce glares at him. “No. I don’t,” He growls out, turning back to the screens and pointedly ignoring the Kryptonian.
Clark sighs and the chair is suddenly being pulled away from the desk, effectively removing him from the computer. Clark moves to stand in front of the chair. “You’re taking a break.”
Before Bruce can argue he’s being picked up and sat on Clark’s bicep, his arm coming down and effectively pinning him to Clark’s arm like a metal bar on a rollercoaster. He quickly grabs a fistful of the Kryptonian’s clothes when he starts to fly out of the batcave, wanting to make sure that he doesn’t fall even though he knows Clark wouldn’t let that happen. Clark quickly brings them out of the cave and up into the air, high above the clouds and usual smog of the Gotham air, up to where the sky is clear from everything. It’s a bit chilly but the chill doesn’t hurt, rather it settles him and helps him come back to himself a bit.
He takes a breath as he looks around. He can barely see Gotham here, just the occasional lights that shine through the layer of clouds. Up here it’s different, like he can’t feel the weight of everything because it doesn’t exist. His shoulders relax a bit for the first time in a month and Clark must feel it because he suddenly lays flat, pulling Bruce onto his front as he does. Bruce tightens his thighs around Clark’s middle, keeping himself up as the Kryptonian lays flat in the air. “Here,” Clark says, holding out the hot chocolate again.
Bruce stares at the liquid before glancing over at Clark’s face. The Kryptonian has a smile on his face but Bruce can see the worry in his eyes, something that isn’t common for him. Bruce reaches out slowly and takes the mug, even up here in the colder air it's still warm and he holds the mug in both hands as he stares at the drink.
“You deserve a break Bruce,” Clark says softly, reaching out and holding Bruce's waist. “You've been working yourself too hard and that isn't good for you.”
Bruce's gaze moves back to Clark and he frowns. He's not good at speaking about emotions but he knows that's what Clark wants. “It doesn't feel that way. Everything has been piling up on me and it's never-ending. I just feel so tired and I feel like I have to work to distract myself from it,” He mumbles, his grip on the cup tightening.
Clark squeezes his hips. “No Sweetheart, that will just make you feel worse. You deserve breaks. You’re just as human as everyone else and unfortunately sometimes it’s going to be too much, it’s a part of life. But you deserve to take breaks just like everyone else. That’s what your friends and family are here for, what I’m here for.”
Bruce sighs softly, taking a drink out of the mug in his hands. As he’s doing so he finally notices the Superman logo that is covering it and he gives Clark an amused look. “Really? Your own mug?” He mumbles into the cup as he takes another drink.
Clark just smiles at him. “I figured it’d make you feel better.”
Bruce rolls his eyes but he can’t deny the small smile on his face, it is a little amusing to him. Clark’s words replay in his head as he drinks the hot chocolate. He knows that Clark is here for him, as are the rest of his friends, but he’s so used to dealing with things on his own. It’s what he’s done his whole life, it’s weird to just have someone that wants to be by his side and support him.
It’s silent between them as Bruce finishes the drink and as he does tiredness seeps into his body, his shoulders falling and his eyes growing heavy. He’s been ignoring his own care for so long that now that he’s being forced to face it, it’s hitting him like a freight train. He hands the empty cup to Clark, who takes it happily. “You can lay down if you want, I’ll keep you up here.”
Bruce thinks on it for a moment before giving in, carefully maneuvering himself and laying flat against Clark. He buries his face into the Kryptonian’s neck and sighs softly, smiling softly when Clark wraps his arms around him tightly. It’s comforting. “Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me, I love you Bruce. It’s my job to be here when you need me, even if you won’t say you need me,” Clark mumbles, kissing the side of his head.
“I love you too.”
Bruce is very thankful for Clark, he’s not sure how much longer he could have kept going if he didn’t get time to have a break and recuperate. This is what he needed and Clark is the one that helped give it to him. Even if Clark doesn’t want thanks, Bruce thinks he deserves it. He’ll find a way to pay the Kryptonian back in the future, he deserves it.
He closes his eyes and lets the cold air cool him, matching his breathing up with Clark’s to keep his own steady. It doesn’t take long for the weight of sleep to hit him, especially when he’s being held by Clark. Clark can put him to sleep easily and it seems he’s using it to his advantage now because Bruce can feel himself relaxing into the Kryptonian under him without a second thought, letting sleep take him.