Chapter Text
The hospital was always impossibly busy on Saturdays. It was busy all the time, but Saturdays felt like some hellhounds were unleashed upon the city, creating catastrophes Bruce could barely understand. Suddenly, they were understaffed, and the lights were too bright and it was way too cold in the facility. Bruce hated Saturdays.
Even after all these years learning about neurosurgery, sometimes he felt like a third year student in front of their very first case. It was stressful, really, especially when he came back home, and the house was quiet, except for the small conversations he would have with his butler.
He had a dog, a German Shepherd named Ace, that would come to greet him every evening, but he knew how depressed he could be. Staying home all day except for the rare walks he would get, it wasn't fit for such a lovely dog.
Bruce felt his heart ache when he thought about that. Alfred served him dinner as he thanked him, and the topic was on the table right next to his steamy dish.
"I should probably do something for Him." Bruce started, gesturing towards Ace.
"You should, indeed. The poor boy is becoming antisocial, it's very inconvenient for dogs to stay inside all day." Alfred nodded, pouring some wine into his glass.
"Just like a child." Bruce sighed. He knew sooner or later, he would have to fully commit, but he had once more let his work-life overshadow everything and everyone else. What a shame.
"Then the solution is simple." Bruce turned to him once more, curious. "There's a pet daycare in the neighborhood, and they are quite appreciated. It would be nice for Ace to be around other dogs."
Bruce found the idea very intriguing, and it seemed like the perfect solution to such an issue. He could drop Ace there in the morning and pick him up after his shift, and Ace could get to play all day. He was only slightly scared that it would be stressful for the pet more than anything, he didn't want him to feel abandoned or to get aggressive towards other people.
After some time of thinking, he realized it was unlikely for Ace to get out of control. He was very well trained, he wouldn't do something like that unless asked to, which Bruce would rarely do.
So the next day, quite early, Bruce got ready and put Ace on a leash while he drove to the shelter. He walked in, and was surprised at how welcoming the place was. There were plants around, a few birds in cages chittering and a small library. A back door headed to a backyard with flowers and dogs roaming around freely, and then two other doors leading to secret places. They had adorable drawings pinned onto the hardwood, and it made Bruce more at ease.
The front counter was empty, so he just kept observing the place while waiting for the owner. He checked his watch from time to time not to be late to work.
Unexpectedly, one of the doors opened, revealing a tall and quite strong bodied dark haired man with glasses. He didn't seem to notice Bruce at first, since he was carrying a bunch of flyers.
"..Hello?" Bruce inquired, startling the other.
He turned to face them and adjusted his glasses, placing the flyers on the counter.
"Oh, I didn't see you, my apologies." He said with a smile, giving a gentle look at the dog. "Good morning, I'm Clark Kent. I'm the owner and just.. not used to seeing people so early in the morning."
Bruce was observing him thoroughly, for some reason. He noticed his tanned skin, his slight freckles and his accent, deducing he probably came from the Midwest.
"No worries. I'm Bruce Wayne. Nice to meet you." Bruce answered, extending his hand for a formal salutation, which Clark took. Bruce noticed how firm his hands were, too firm for a simple pet sitter. Bruce decided to stop trying to analyze the other man, because it was starting to look strange even to himself.
"..and who's the little guy?" Clark's voice sounded so fond, and Bruce watched as he got to his knee to face the animal, tentatively petting it. Ace didn't pull away, which was surprising.
"Ace, he's a German Shepherd, almost three years old. He doesn't bite unless I tell him to." Bruce explained flatly.
"Oh, that's quite convenient, but even if it wasn't the case I would still take him in." Clark smiled and went behind the counter. "So.. how can I help you?"
When Bruce met his gaze at this moment, it was undeniable that Clark was a really pretty man. He was impressive physically, of course, but something about his gentleness and warmth just screamed the word 'beautiful'. However, Bruce remained stoic.
"Ace has been quite.. depressed lately, because I'm not always available. Would it be convenient for me to drop him here around this time almost everyday? At least until he feels better."
"Sure, yeah. I close around six thirty pm, but some pets can stay the night if I have some room left." Clark answered with enthusiasm.
Bruce was delighted, yet he couldn't help but notice he said 'I' and not 'We'. Most of the time, an owner would say 'us' unless they were working alone. Bruce had trouble imagining him dealing with all of these pets on his own. Oh, but maybe he was just overdoing it, he wasn't used to leaving Ace with strangers, he could admit it was stressing him out.
"Ace can be a little difficult. He's not very active, nor talkative ." Bruce added, but Clark only nodded in acknowledgement.
"It's fine, most of them are shy when they first come in. I'm sure he'll be okay, no need to worry." He smiled, and it somehow calmed him down a little.
Shortly after, Bruce was on his way.
He greeted the nurses politely as he went by, and settled in his consultation office. He sighed at the quietness of the room, but soon enough, someone knocked on the door. He already knew who it was.
"Come in, Richard."
The young man entered, he was a resident. Bruce could never understand how but they became close over the years, but Richard was appreciated by the staff in general.
"Dr. Wayne! I'm so glad you're here. Nobody believes me when I tell them I did the whole surgery on my own last night."
"You didn't, I was there." Bruce chuckled.
"Yes but you were just helping, I had it under control. You said it!"
"Did I, now?" Teasing him was much too fun not to. He was always trying to prove he was good, even when in reality he was great.
"Are you making fun of me right now?" Richard smiled, before he placed a bunch of files on the desk. Bruce's face fell in ennui. "Ha! Not so funny now right?"
"For both of us. Make the first contact with them, I'll check in later."
Richard rolled his eyes and simply accepted it, he wasn't particularly a fan of trying to care for someone that was being annoying about wanting to see 'a real doctor', but he could handle it.
"Oh, and how about Ace?" He asked with a bit of worry. "I know about some SSRIs that can help, like paroxetine."
For some reason, Bruce has never been really interested in putting Ace under medication. It would not only make the situation more serious than he believed it to be, and he didn't want to find a lazy solution to a complex problem.
"I will take it into consideration." He answered. "For now, I'm trying to make him socialize. If it doesn't work, then I'll try that."
"Oh, that's awesome! How are you gonna do that?" Richard asked while going through the files.
"I found a daycare in the neighborhood. The owner seems nice enough."
Richard gave him a certain look, but Bruce ignored it. He surely didn't need to mention the owner, and he didn't know why it escaped his trail of thoughts.
"Anyways. How about you get out of my office and start actually doing your job?" Bruce told him with no real bite, Richard smirked.
"Like mentor like mentee."
Five o'clock arrived, and Bruce was finally free. He clocked out and drove to the daycare, he wanted to pick up Ace himself— but really, it had nothing to do with the owner. He just wanted to do it himself and not feel guilty about it later.
When he walked into the main room, it was empty again, but he could hear some dogs barking in the backyard. He simply walked to the door, observing as Clark played catch with them.
He seemed so careless and just.. exuded something welcoming that was drawing him in. In a way. A different way than what this would mean.
His attention was caught by Ace, eagerly running to him with the ball between his teeth. He was barking and jumping onto Clark to gain his attention, and it was just beautiful. Bruce almost forgot that he was there for a second, so when Clark noticed him, he was just as surprised. How embarrassing, he was staring at him, this whole time, like a creep.
"Mr. Wayne– I didn't hear you coming in." Clark walked towards him, Ace following close behind him. He looked at his pet and felt relieved, was this really everything he needed?
"No worries. It's good that you actually spend time with them." Bruce delivered flatly, glancing up at him.
Clark seemed a little awkward, he walked toward a peg board on the wall with leashes on them, and came back with Ace's. When he kneeled to connect it to his collar, Bruce couldn't help but notice his curly dark hair. It seemed well taken care of, but also messy, he wondered how it would feel if he were to get his fingers through the locks.
Clark stood up unexpectedly and was met with his intense stare, Bruce could've sworn his cheeks were turning pink, but it could've been the light deceiving him.
"Um.. there you go, Mr. Wayne, he's–"
"Bruce." He interrupted, leaving the other speechless. "Please, Call me Bruce."
Clark nodded slowly, a small smile softening his features. He scratched the back of his head nervously, and then handed the leash to Bruce.
"No problem.. Bruce."
He usually would've never said something similar to someone he just met, and he felt so out of character that he was getting nauseous. It just came out naturally, and Bruce couldn't even blame a lack of self control because he had mastered it years ago.
However, the way his mouth shaped the letters of his name was delightful, candy to the man's ears.
Bruce caught the leash and cleared his throat.
"Well, thank you for today. I should be on my way." He announced, taking a small step back.
"Of course.. good evening, Mr. W– er, Bruce." He laughed softly, adjusting his glasses before waving goodbye.
Bruce gave him a small smile as he left, walking towards his car with Ace.
He was incredibly saddened when, as soon as they had stepped into the living room, Ace was back to weep in his little corner. He had been so lively back with Clark, they were even playing catch.
Bruce wasn't going to let his mood go back there, so he grabbed one of his squeaky toys, agitating it in front of him to try and get a reaction.
Nothing.
Ace just stared at him like a bored teenager, and Bruce was defeated.
The word sadly resonated with him. A lot of times, in life he had experienced it— and each time was growing harder that the last. As far as he could go back, he was always the quiet kid, the smart and polite, the easy kid. His parents were always first to brag about him and how simple life would be for him. He believed them, he forced himself to agree because he trusted them and they believed in him, loved him, they would've done anything for his life to be simple.
They were the link between him and the concept of genuine confidence.
So when they died, everything he believed in died as well. He wasn't the quiet and composed kid anymore, he was the distant one. Alfred was there, and helped him into rebuilding himself so he could at least try to fit in with society. Try himself into normalcy.
Bruce was a bright mind, that the murder of his parents blew away the certainty and the peace.
Hopefully or not, he busied himself with hobbies and school and work, so much so that there was no room for self doubt anymore. 'What would he do without them?' everything he could. And maybe it would be enough.
Ace being so sad was a reflection of himself on this aspect, and the walls of the Wayne mansion were shaped like a fragile pile of wet cards, ready to succumb at the first storm.
He really wanted Ace to get better.
It was only obvious that he would be going back, on the next day. Not because of the owner, of course, but because Ace needed this. All of this was for him. The struggle surrounding which tie to use or if his perfume suddenly smelled too eccentric? Yes, it was definitely because he wanted Ace to be happy again.
This time, he walked in and Clark was there, tending to a black cat in a cage, trying to get him out.
"Oh, good morning. What a pleasant surprise." He told him with a charming smile. Bruce had no idea what made his smile so charming though. Probably the dimples. "One second.. I'm just.."
The cat hissed and he immediately took his hand out, focusing entirely on Bruce now.
"Morning. I see you're in a.. difficult position." Bruce noticed, taking a step closer to get a better look at the animal.
"A newcomer. She's quite aggressive I admit, but it's only because she's scared." Clark explained, reopening the cage to glance at her. "I got her this morning.. name's Fleur."
The tenderness in his voice was remarkable, it was often rare to see a man allow himself to be this way, Bruce found it refreshing.
On another attempt to approach her, Fleur suddenly scratched Clark's hand with everything she had.
Clark let out a pained yelp, withdrawing his hand quickly. The sight was difficult to bear, he was bleeding abundantly. "Ah–!"
Bruce took a handkerchief out of the pocket of his jacket, quickly wrapping it around the bleeding wound. He wiped the blood away with care. "Thanks.. but you don't have to–"
"Do you have a first aid kit somewhere?" Bruce demanded, ignoring his protests. He liked to think it was just his instinct of a doctor to do that, so it wasn't awkward. The wound was deep so Clark would probably need a few stitches, and he needed to check the cat's vaccinal status.
When Clark didn't answer, he looked up at his face, only to notice how red he was becoming. Bruce immediately went to place the back of his hand upon his forehead to check for any fever. "Is everything alright?"
"Alright? Yeah.. I'm very alright. Totally." He nodded, laughing a little as he did a finger gun with his free hand. Bruce held back a smile, but it was way too ridiculous not to.
"The first aid kit?"
"Oh, of course. It's right there." He gestured towards a cabinet, so Bruce went to grab it. "It's not too bad, though."
Bruce motioned for him to sit down, and he did so. "You'll need stitches."
"..You can do that?" Clark was a little confused.
"Of course I can, I'm a neurosurgeon." Bruce only realised now that he hadn't told him from the start, which was maybe why he was so awkward with him tending to the wound like that. "I don't have the necessary here, but there are some steri strips. You'll be okay."
"That's nice.." He smiled, seemingly relaxed.
Bruce applied some alcohol and Clark flinched, he made sure to be extra careful, he didn't want to make this awkward for him.
"Do you have her vaccinal status?" He asked.
"Yes, she's okay. Nothing to worry about in this area." He answered and Bruce hummed in acknowledgement.
It was reassuring. When Bruce was done, it felt weird to let go of his hand. What felt weirder is how comfortable he had been holding it this whole time, even stroking his wrist while he applied the alcohol. He wondered if Clark had noticed and was embarrassed now.
"You're all good." He concluded, putting the used materials in the trash can.
"Why thank you, doctor." Clark answered with a smile, it edged on something playful and the way he said it made something flutter in his stomach.
"My pleasure." He played into it, taking a small step closer.
Then, his phone unexpectedly rang. He excused himself and picked it up, and it was about work as per usual.
"Unfortunately, I have to go. I will be back for Ace this evening." He told Clark, checking his pockets in case he had forgotten something.
"Of course, and.. thanks again." He waved with his injured hand, Bruce answered with a smile and a polite nod before walking out of the room.
The call was very much needed, because the hospital was in a frenzy. There had been an accident earlier in the day, and the victims kept coming. It took a toll on his mood, even if he was pleased to be helping, it was always hard to face how fragile human life really was on a daily basis.
He was very professional during his shifts, kept everything casual and did the best he could to teach and think rationally.
He walked out of the exam room, and he was exhausted. He took off his gloves and threw them in the bin, as well as his mask and the rest. It was five pm, he was supposed to clock out but he was still needed. He did have Clark's number on his phone, but it was out of power. He felt horrible, because he knew he couldn't just leave him with Ace all night long.
His feet hurt and his head even more, but then it was worth it as his patients were stable and he was able to take in a deep breath for the first time since it all started.
When Bruce was finally able to be replaced, it was a quarter to seven. He drove as fast as he was allowed to, and rushed into the daycare. The sun was already gone, as well as the decent mood he had when he was leaving the place earlier.
"Mr. Kent–" Bruce started, being interrupted by the sweet view he was witnessing. Clark was in the backyard, brushing Ace's fur gently. They seemed in their own little world, and Bruce wished that the time would stop right there.
He walked up to them, and Clark greeted him with a smile.
"Bruce, good evening."
"Good evening, I.. I'm sorry it took me so long. There was an accident earlier, so it got busy." He explained, taking the leash Clark was handing him. Ace's tail was wagging slightly, and that made him feel better. At least he had spent a good day.
"Oh, it's fine.. didn't mind doing this for you after you helped me this morning. Also, Ace is a sweetheart."
Bruce glanced at the dog with tenderness.
"And um, you know.. if I get to call you Bruce, I wouldn't mind if you called me Clark." He added, eliciting a chuckle from Bruce.
"Fair enough. Are you going to be okay on your way back? I could drive you."
"No no, I'm fine. I live two blocks away."
Bruce nodded, and it was quite disappointing that he couldn't drive him. He would've enjoyed talking with him some more, maybe asking some questions about him and why he was doing this job.
When he got home, Bruce felt his chest tighten with joy at the sight of Ace being so happy. He played with him for a while, throwing the squeaky toy away and watching him bring it back. He scratched his head as he read in his bed, and they eventually fell asleep like this.