Chapter Text
It all began on one unassuming mission. Some supervillain from outer space was targeting Gotham and all the Bats immediately dove into action, despite Clark’s protests. He had learned very early into his relationship with Bruce that every single person in the Wayne household was stubborn as a mule and once they’d put their mind to something, not even an invincible alien could stop them.
“What a fight!” Clark breathed as he settled his feet back onto the ground where the bats were supposedly dealing with the aftermath of the fight, though it looked more like Tim and Damian were arguing about who took down more goons, Cass and Stephanie were discussing what kind of post-battle treat they should sucker out of Bruce’s wallet, and Jason was sitting on a pile of rubble cleaning his gun while Dick did flips over him. At least Duke was trying to pick through the smaller debris.
Clark sighed in fondness. The kids had really grown on him in the several months he and Bruce had been dating. They were wary of him at first, but he liked to think that his farm boy charm eventually won them over.
“I don’t know where I would be if you all hadn’t swooped in,” Clark chuckled. “I really appreciate your help with this fight. You all did a great job. I’m proud of you.”
All at once, eight pairs of eyes snapped toward him, all conveying varying degrees of shock. Clark’s eyes darted around in confusion, trying to figure out what had brought upon the sudden scrutiny.
“What? Did I say something wrong?”
He didn’t think he’d ever seen them all so still outside of a recon mission.
“What’s the matter?” Clark asked again, feeling more self-conscious by the second. “Believe it or not, mind-reading isn’t included in my powers.”
“You just…” Steph started, but she couldn’t quite seem to find the words. “You said…”
Clark’s brain moved at superhuman speeds and he still couldn’t compute what was happening. This sudden timidness was very out of character for all of them. A few more seconds passed with very little articulation of the issue before Bruce finally spoke up.
“I think I speak for all of us when I say that we don’t really…” he coughed, though Clark could tell he was just stalling. “I mean, we aren’t accustomed to hearing… those words.”
Clark’s brow furrowed in confusion before he was struck with revelation.
“Those words being ‘I’m proud of you’?” he said and this time he didn’t miss the minuscule way their shoulders tightened with a hitch in their breath. Clark smiled, a touch of sadness behind it at the implication of their behavior. “You don’t hear that a lot, huh?”
The heavy silence that followed gave Clark all the answers he needed.
“I’m sorry,” he said gently, his voice softer than he expected it to be. Bruce shook his head in that brusque way that he always does when he wants to change the subject.
“Don’t be. It’s all part of the job,” he said gruffly before signaling to the others. Before he knew it, Clark was watching them soar away into the city with their grappling hooks. If he didn’t have super hearing, he would’ve missed the faint noise coming from Bruce’s comm and the way he grunted “Shut up, O”.
From that point on, Clark Kent made it his personal mission to give each and every Batfamily member the love and validation they deserve.