Kiss Me, Take My Breath Away (A Superbat AU)

Let me kiss it better

Clark only has good sailing back to Gotham Bay, but even that isn't enough to lift his spirits fully. He feels the loss deep in his bones, and he can't help but miss his mother. He'll never get another letter from her at a port, or come home to her apple pie, or get her consoling kisses on his forehead.

For all intents and purposes, Clark Kent grew up a momma's boy, and losing her is a particularly hard blow to his psyche. The sailor takes a deep breath and steers the yacht into the bay, listening to the purr of the engine, rather than the sound of his own heart breaking.

"Bruce?" He calls out for his mate and the echo of his own voice reverberates back at him.

"I'm right ahead of you, Clark."

Sure as ever, Bruce is lazily gliding ahead of the yacht, relaxed and without a care in the world from the looks of it.

"How was everything?" He stops the engine and walks over to the side stairs to sit halfway in the water. Bruce swims closer, and gently glides his tail against Clark. It tickles, but it is soothing.

"It went well. I had a visitor, and now I have another pod member. I'd like you to meet him, if you want."

"Of course I do, Bruce." It's easier to focus on someone else rather than himself in the moment, anyway.

"Alfred? Can you come out here please?"

"Master Bruce?"

"This is Alfred?" Clark is equally flabbergasted, and amazed. The man is so small compared to Bruce, and looks a good bit older.

"Indeed I am, Mister Kent."

"Please, call me Clark."

Alfred raises one well practised eyebrow, and the sailor realises the jury is out on that one.

"Alfred, this is my mate, Clark Kent. Clark, this is a god friend of mine, Alfred."

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Alfred." Alfred's warm smile is overly infectious, and his shake is firm and warm.

"You ought to take good care of Master Bruce. I might be an old mermaid, but I still have something left of me should any harm come to him." His gaze is stern and unwavering, and Clark feels himself gulp.

"Yes, sir."

"That's quite enough of the scaring my mate act, Alfred. Why don't you go see if there's anything you would like to collect near Oracle Isle? I know you're fond of shells."

"As you wish, Master Bruce."

Alfred swims away leisurely, and Clark takes a deep shuddering breath.

"Clark, what's wrong?" Bruce feels a tightness in his chest that's not his own, and a sorrow like he's never felt before.

"She's gone, Bruce. My mother is gone." The tears are back, and the sailor is actually glad Bruce sent his friend away, because it would be rather embarrassing if someone were to see him crying like this.

The two sit in silence for a while, and the siren can do no more than to run gentle hands over Clark's hair, and hush his whines of sadness as they watch the lapping waves in the distance.

"I miss my mother too."

Clark holds his siren a little tighter with no concern for the fact that his clothes are getting wet.

"It gets easier with time. At first, everything that reminds you of her feels like a knife, but then it gets better. A knife becomes a shard of glass. The glass shard slowly shrinks -till it becomes a pin prick in your side after a while- till it's so numb you forget all about it, and begin to focus on the good memories instead."