Clark knew he was being irrational. After all, the man he felt so conflicted about was none other than himself. Could you really be jealous of your own future self? Yet, every time his older self treated Batman with such tenderness—holding open doors, guiding him by the hand up the spaceship ramp, or walking protectively by his side—Clark couldn't help but grit his teeth. As long as Bruce needed something, even things that were within his reach, the older Superman would be there in a second with the items at hand.
What made it worse was that Batman said nothing, calmly accepting it, when he would have snapped at Clark for even trying the same. Maybe Bruce had a thing for older men?
Later, as Clark poked sulkily at his dinner and grumbled about it, Bruce gave him a long, thoughtful look before sighing. "It was obvious to me that your older self has recently lost someone very dear to him. His movements were very natural, like he’s used to doing all these gestures for that person. Letting him do this—it's his way of finding comfort, Clark."
