"Bruce, c'mon, you can't stay in here forever," Dick said from the doorway of Death's "bedroom". It was an exact replica of Clark's apartment bedroom in Metropolis, on Earth.

"Don't call me that," Death snapped, not looking away the picture of Clark and his parents. The one picture Clark kept in his apartment.

Dick sighed heavily. "You've been in here for the past week. That's… three and a half Earth months, Bruce."

"I'm grieving, leave me alone," Death said. The sad tone that followed him around all the time still lingered in his tone.

"D," Dick said sympathetically. "I'm sorry, but-"

"Don't pity me, Dick."

Dick sighed and paused. "Your brother is here to see you."

"I do not wish to see him."

"He insists."

"I do not care."

Dick scoffed. "Okay, now you're just acting like a petulant child. Clark died, boo-hoo. So what? You deal with deaths of millions each day. You are Death. It's not something to be stopped. It just happens. You told me that. I can't believe I'm telling this right back to you. I'm sending your brother in." He spun and walked away, not waiting for Death's answer.

Death did not answer either. He stared at the worn, grainy, yellowing picture of a younger Clark and his parents. A golden retriever sat at his feet.

Death traced his finger down the frame of the replica photo. He did not have physical eyes in this form, but Death still felt the burst of sadness that just built and built and needed to pop. It still hurt when he thought about Clark, but he could not stop. He missed him so much. He was ignoring his duties, and he was worrying Dick, as well as the rest of his family. Aside from Love, of course.

There was a gentle knock on the door.

"Brother," came Life's voice. "May I come in?"

Death did not answer.

Life strode inside anyway, perching gently at the edge of the replica bed. "You are still mourning," he observed. "Why?"

Death did not look away from the picture. "I do not know," he said truthfully. "It still hurts. But I do not know how to heal it."

Life made a thoughtful noise. "Brother," Life said. "Look at me. Please."

Death slowly turned towards his brother. His brother wore his human form, as always, unlike Death at the moment. Death could not bear his human form anymore. Life had a white robe on, and everything was pale, much like the robe, except for his shocking green eyes.

"I recently took a visit to Earth," Life said, looking straight at Death, hoping for a reaction. "I tried going to the city you spoke of, but I did not remember where it was. So I went to the last city I visited while I was on Earth. That one place, where you found Richard. I, ah, made the mistake of not staying invisible, not knowing that the Earthians, sorry, humans were not used to seeing beings pop out of nowhere." Life made a weird face. "One of them screamed and ran away yelling 'Joker', which I did not understand why. Is a joker not supposed to be funny? So why the human run away?"

"Get to your point, brother," Death said dryly.

"I'm getting there," Life said. Death had forgotten how talkative his brother could be. "Anyway, luckily, the city was close to the other one, so I went over there easily. Found out some information on that man of yours. He had this huge public funeral, broadcasted all over the world, and a statue was erected in his honor. His, ah, other identity, Clark Kent, they did not find a body for him, so they assumed he was incinerated by the fires. Don't know much else."

Death did not give any reaction to all of what Life told him.

Life sighed. It was very exaggerated. He was hiding something now, Death knew it.

"What are you not telling me?" Death asked.

Life finally smiled. "You want to know?"

"Not particularly, but you want to tell me," Death said sardonically. "But if it gets you to leave me alone quicker, I will ask."

Life frowned briefly before smiling happily. "I found a solution to your problem, brother."

"I do not have a problem. My problem already had its solution. I'm just dealing with the consequences."

"Well, I have a coping mechanism for you," Life said. "You see, Dickie came up to me, practically begging for me to fix you somehow. And honestly, your moping and grieving has gotten a little out of hand. You're supposed to be Death. Emotionless and cold. We cannot have you crying over some mortal."

Death wanted to kick his brother out.

Life kept talking. "So, I have been all over, looking for a cure to a broken heart. Even talked to our sister. Selina was not much help. She just laughed in my face a few times, saying I was next or something. Not that I care very much. Harls was not helpful either. Kept telling me to leave you alone. You know, I think she is scared of you. You have been acting like you blame her for Kal-El's death. You need to be nicer to her."

Finally, Death snapped. "If you came here to criticize me, I do not need to hear it. Get out, brother. Come back some other day."

Life's smile disappeared. His green eyes went cold. This was a side that anyone rarely saw. But it was who Life truly was, down to his very core. "Alright, I'll be straight with you," he said. "I brought your darling Kal-El back, okay? He's alive, and he's waiting right outside. I was not lying when I said everyone is sick and tired of your 'woe is me' grieving stage. So get your ass out of this stupid room and do something productive."

"Bullshit."

"You do not believe me? Fine," Life snapped. He stood up. "You are not the only one who can take away life, you know. I can very well take it away again, and I sure as hell will not make it as painless as you do," he growled.

Death stood up as well. He was across the room in two strides, pushing his brother hard. Life crashed into the wall, and the illusion of the room flickered for a moment. But in that moment, Death caught sight of the real room of the Palace. Standing in the hallway, looking around at the intricate designs, was Clark.

Death stumbled and barely caught himself when Life pushed him off.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Life spat. "You need to fucking get it together."

"You… You were not lying," Death marveled in a whisper.

"Of course I was not fucking lying!" Life yelled. "When have I ever lied to you? Some fucking brother you are."

Death wanted to bolt to the door. But he turned to Life. "I'm sorry, brother. You were right. The grief made me think and act irrationally. I deeply apologize for that. And you… you brought him back?" Death looked at the door again. "How?"

Life shrugged. "I took the soul and his memories and reattached them, then I put them into a new body. A full grown body that looked exactly like his old one. Never tried it before, but it worked. Loopholes, huh. But I won't do that with everyone," Life warned. "I feel bad enough about this one."

"Thank you," Death said. "Really. I- I do not know how to thank you."

Life quirked a small smile. "Come by and visit once in a while. Courtyard gets lonely by myself. You have reapers and Dick, and now Kal-El, but it's just me in my Courtyard. I have a lot of stories to tell as well, if you have the time to listen." Life's smile turned wistful. "I never saw much of you, brother. And when I started seeing you even less, I was… I was afraid I was losing you. I could not bear to lose you."

Death placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "I will," he said softly. "At least once every few days. I really cannot thank you enough, brother."

"I just want you happy," Life said softly.

"Thank you," Death whispered. He looked at the door again.

"Go," Life said with a small laugh. "He's been asking after you."

Death gave Life one last smile and a small squeeze on the shoulder before he literally flew out of the door. He appeared in the hallway and stopped.

It took a moment for Clark to see him. When his eyes did land on him, a flash of surprise passed through his eyes. Then, he smiled. "Hey," he said. "Um, do you go by Death in this form?" He gave an awkward little chuckle, and Death's heart (if he had one in this form) burst with longing, sadness, and immense joy. It was very confusing.

Death let his true form melt away in favor of his human form, which was unfortunately already crying with red rimmed eyes. He probably looked like a mess. "I would prefer if you didn't," he admitted.

Clark grinned. "I can… I can touch you here, right?"

Death, Bruce, nodded, wiping at his eyes with a stupid smile on his face. "Yeah, yes, you can."

And Clark ran forward, scooping his dark angel up in his arms, twirling them in one full circle before pausing and kissing him full on the lips.

"I missed you," Bruce whispered against Clark's lips, glad that it was warm and full of life this time.

"Yeah," Clark said with a huff of a laugh. "Your brother and Dick told me. Charming, they are."

Bruce brushed Clark's hair out of his face, glad he could touch his skin without his powers kicking in. It was the magic of the Palace, after all. He kissed Clark again, for a long time, just reveling in the act that made his heart swell and sing.

Then, Clark pulled away. "I didn't get a chance to tell you," he said, a bit breathless. "Before, but, I love you. Bruce, Death, whatever you want to be called. You're mine. A dark, foreboding present, all wrapped up with a lovely black bow."

Bruce pressed his forehead against Clark's, letting his eyes slide closed. He laughed quietly, breathing in Clark's scent. He always smell faintly of cinnamon and apple pie. "You can't own Death, idiot," he said, but his voice held no venom.

Clark kissed him briefly again. "But I can. Courtesy of your sister. She wrapped you up all nice, just… for… me. And what a gift you were."

Bruce shook his head. His fingers tightened in Clark's hair.

"Idiot."

A/N ~ Ahh, sorry guys this took a while. I've been on vacation and had to write like crazy before that, so I never got a chance to update. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

-J