Ficlet: Coded Words of Friendship

[starsandsea]

Title: Coded Words of Friendship
Rating: PG
Characters: Clark, Bruce
Word Count: 525
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Author's Note: For the WFGE. For prompt F14 - 'I'd like a small, warm but deep moment between Batman and Superman, possibly after battle, that shows their care and concern for each other, and that they love each other as friends (not lovers.)' Unbetaed, so point and I shall correct.





Superman flew into the BatCave, hearing senors take note of his movements, but no alarms sounded. He could not help but smile, at that. That Bruce trusted him so... It was the small things, like that (although that was a rather large thing) that you needed to notice around Bruce. To realize just how much he cared.

The main part of the cave was empty, and Kal-El frowned. Bruce should be here; he hadn't heard anything about a crisis in Gotham, and they had just returned from a JLA fight against the Injustice League. Batman should be entering his log into the computer, or Bruce should be resting. But Kal knew he wasn't, it was why he had stopped by.

Frowning, he floated over to the medical bay, stomach falling as he smelled blood. He swallowed. Bruce had been hurt and hadn't told him? While that would be like him, he had thought - hoped - that they were past that stage now, that Bruce trusted him. Sighing, Kal floated down to the cave floor, then walked into the medical bay.

Bruce was lying on his front, Alfred stitching up the last wound in his back. There were five of them, and Kal swallowed again. He was invulnerable, yes, but when he saw sights like this, saw people he cared about bleeding...

"Master Clark," Alfred greeted, then went back to his work.

Bruce had sighed when he had walked into the room, closed his eyes, but he opened them now.

"You didn't tell me you were hurt, B."

Bruce just sighed again, closing his eyes once more, and Kal suddenly wondered if Alfred had drugged him, or not. He looked at the butler, but he was intent on his work.

Bruce opened his eyes again, and they were tired, full of pain. "Kryptonite," he said softly, and Kal closed his own eyes as it all made sense. Batman's hasty departure, the way he had been standing as far as possible from him... The others had taken it as Batman being Batman. But Bruce had been protecting him, as much as he could.

Kal opened his eyes. "Thank you, B." He said, quietly.

Bruce waved a hand slowly, in dismissal. "Too important tactically to have you down, S."

He had to smile at that; Bruce's coded words of friendship. "But not you?" He countered, and Bruce glared at him.

There was a sticky, plastic sound, as Alfred put a bandage over the wound he had been attending, and Bruce winced. So did Kal. "Well, you're in good hands, B. I'd better get back to Metropolis. Let me know if you need anything, or need extra help in Gotham for a few days. "

Bruce was silent, and he could almost feel how insulted he was by that last remark.

"Thank you, Master Clark." Alfred nodded at him. Clark nodded back - what Alfred was thanking him for he had no idea - and started to leave.

"Get better soon, B," he called out, as he stepped into the air, then glided through the BatCave, and out across the dark bay to Metropolis, gleaming in the distance.

Comments

[saavikam77.livejournal.com]

Aww... I love how everything shows clearly through their coded words of friendship, and how Bruce taking the hits for Clark showed more than ANY words. :)

*loves*

[starsandsea.livejournal.com]

Yay! I'm really glad you liked this!

*hugs Bruce* *pets Clark*

Thank you for commenting, Saavi! :)

[tabru.livejournal.com]

EEEP! Poor Bruce! But, awwwwwww, so cute that he was trying to protect Clark.

I love the little interaction between Alfred and Clark at the end there. They both gotta work extra hard to protect their Bruce. <3

Such a wonderfully sweet look into their friendship!

[starsandsea.livejournal.com]

Poor Bruce indeed! But he would say that it was worth it. *pets him*

I'm really glad you liked the interaction between Alfred and Clark. I'm quite fond of that part myself.

Thank you for commenting! And your icon makes me LOL so much. :D

[bradygirl_12]

Nice! I love the idea of friends using codes between them. Such fun! And special. Good job, Star! :)

[starsandsea.livejournal.com]

*grins* Bruce and Clark certainly have their own special code!

Thank you for commenting, Brady! I'm really glad you liked this! :)

[ava-jamison.livejournal.com]

Oh! This is lovely, lovely, lovely! Perfect! It was my prompt and it's perfect and gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous! I am crazy about this moment between them.
Of course Bruce took the hit for Kal. He wouldn't be that fantastic, heroic hero that he is if he hadn't. And of course he didn't tell anyone. But now Kal knows. Love Alfred helping Bruce by both stitching him up and kind of mediating between Kal and Bruce and their quiet, intense relationship.

Gorgeous! Thank you so, so much for writing this!

[starsandsea.livejournal.com]

Whee! *dances* I'm so glad you liked it! :D

I had a lot of fun writing this one, and Bruce being all quietly heroic and saving Kal, even though no one realzied it. *pets him* But Kal knowing that there was something wrong and coming to check on him anyway... *pets Kal* Whee, and I'm really glad you liked Alfred, as well! He was also really good here, taking care of Bruce. :)

Thank you so much for giving the prompt! I really enjoyed writing this, even if it was a bit of a challenge to not make it too slashly, lol.

And thank you for commenting, too! :D

[aesthetica-not.livejournal.com]

What a perfect explanation for Bruce's behavior. I think my favorite part was Clark being pleased that Bruce had set up the Cave to let him in. What a gesture of trust, especially for Bruce! Their special friendship was really apparent here, in an understated kind of way. How lovely!

[starsandsea.livejournal.com]

Oh, you picked up on the Cave detail! Yay! That is a great measure of trust from Bruce. *pets him*

Thank you so much for commenting! I'm really glad you liked this! :)

[kojonoyuri.livejournal.com]

Great job! I love how well Clark understands their friendship. Loved it!

[starsandsea.livejournal.com]

Yay, I'm really glad you liked it! Thank you for commenting! :)

[mithen.livejournal.com]

Oh, I loved all the little hurty details of Bruce's injuries, and you could absolutely FEEL Clark's queasiness about them, which fits him so well.

"Thank you, Master Clark." Alfred nodded at him. Clark nodded back - what Alfred was thanking him for he had no idea - and started to leave.

Speaking of coded words, lol...Alfred is always so oblique, I really loved him here. This was a nice little moment, tense enough to feel in character and caring enough to also be perfectly in character. :)

[starsandsea.livejournal.com]

Oh, I loved all the little hurty details of Bruce's injuries, and you could absolutely FEEL Clark's queasiness about them, which fits him so well.

I was queasy just writing about them, lol. *is so very squeamish*

Oh, yay, and I'm really glad you liked that line between Alfred and Clark, as well! That was one of my favorites. :)

Thank you for commenting, Jen! I'm really glad you liked this! :D

[hitokaji.livejournal.com]

A little bit sad and tense but sweet story. :) I love the little conversations between them. Seems like they don't have to talk much to understand each other. That makes a true pairing. ;)

Thank you for sharing this with us,hon.

[starsandsea.livejournal.com]

You're right, Bruce and Clark don't have to talk much around each other to know what each other is feeling. *pets them both*

Thank you for commenting, Hito! I'm really glad you liked this! :D

[angelinachaser7.livejournal.com]

I love how Bruce is so protective of Clark, even if he gets hurt in the process. This was a nice piece to capture a part of their friendship. :D

[starsandsea.livejournal.com]

Bruce is always very protective of Clark! *pets him*

Thank you for commenting! I'm really glad you liked this! :)

[ladyblkrose.livejournal.com]

Of course Bruce would be a man of action and codes to show his affection. Words mean so little in his world that it's what you do that means the most like take a hit for a friend, telling neigher him or anyone else that you've been hurt. I love the deep friendship shown by all three men here.
Thanks for sharing this with us.

[starsandsea.livejournal.com]

Yep, you have to take note of the actions that Bruce makes, not so much his words, to understand him. And going things to help, and not telling anyone about it. *pets him*

Thank you for commenting! I'm really glad you liked this. :)

[eve-k.livejournal.com]

Yes! This is essential Batman! Sacrificing himself without hesitation for the greater good.
I love that Clark came to check, that he learned just how far Bruce´s friendship will go.

[starsandsea.livejournal.com]

It is essential Batman indeed, doing whatever it takes to keep someone safe, no matter what the cost to him personally. *hearts him*

Thank you for commenting, Eve! I'm so glad you liked this! :)

[ilovetobefree.livejournal.com]

That Bruce trusted him so... It was the small things, like that (although that was a rather large thing) that you needed to notice around Bruce. To realize just how much he cared.
I agree with Clark - that was a rather large thing. And it was nice to see how much Bruce trusted Clark. :)

Bruce opened his eyes again, and they were tired, full of pain. "Kryptonite," he said softly
OH! Poor Bruce!

Batman's hasty departure, the way he had been standing as far as possible from him... The others had taken it as Batman being Batman. But Bruce had been protecting him, as much as he could.
You wrote this so well! The sentence: "The others had taken it as Batman being Batman." – That’s so true. But it shows how wrong people understand Bruce/Batman’s behavior sometimes. Well done!

Bruce waved a hand slowly, in dismissal. "Too important tactically to have you down, S."
He had to smile at that; Bruce's coded words of friendship. "But not you?" He countered, and Bruce glared at him.
The dialogue between them was wonderfully written! And I liked the "coded words of friendship" (and calling each other B and S :)).

"Well, you're in good hands, B.
So true!

"Get better soon, B," he called out, as he stepped into the air, then glided through the BatCave, and out across the dark bay to Metropolis, gleaming in the distance.
"across the dark bay to Metropolis, gleaming in the distance" – I loved this line.

AWWWWWWW – that was so beautifully written! I could see how deeply they care for each other (though "only" as friends this time :)). Bruce trusting Clark, protecting him. And Clark being so concerned about Bruce and he could feel his pain. Great job Star! Thank you so much for sharing this story. :)

[starsandsea.livejournal.com]

I agree with Clark - that was a rather large thing. And it was nice to see how much Bruce trusted Clark. :)

It is a very large thing indeed!

The dialogue between them was wonderfully written! And I liked the "coded words of friendship" (and calling each other B and S :)).

Heh, my Bruce and Clark don't often call each other B and S, so it was a little odd writing them doing so, but it worked in this fic, I think.

"across the dark bay to Metropolis, gleaming in the distance" – I loved this line.

I was quite fond of that line myself! :)

Thank you so much for your lovely comment, Lis! I'm so glad you liked this! :D

[northern-star.livejournal.com]

aw, I loved this! :) "Little" things that mean a lot, without Batman needing to expressing them explicitly for them to be understood and appreciated.

Wonderful work as always! <3

[starsandsea.livejournal.com]

Yay! I'm really glad you liked this!

Yes, it's the 'little' things with Bruce, and of course he himself never draws attention to them... *pets Clark for understanding*

Thank you for commenting! :)