The House of the Earth Part 3: (5/8): Idyll

[mithen]

Title: Chapter Five:  Idyll
Pairing/Characters: Kal/Bruce, Barbara Gordon, Pete Ross, Ollie Queen, Martha Kent, Jonathan Kent
Notes: "The House of the Earth" is an AU in which a few thousand Kryptonians escaped the destruction of Krypton to flee to Earth and conquer its people.
Rating: G
Word Count: 2800
Summary: Jonathan and Martha welcome the travelers to Smallville, a major stop on the route west.

"Clark!"  A woman he had never seen before this moment threw her arms around him, hugging him.  "Oh Clark.  It's been so long."

"Ma," he said, finding his voice suddenly a bit thick at the undeserved welcome.  Obviously Martha and Jonathan had not been told he was anything more than a human working for the rebellion who needed a cover identity.  "I've missed you so much."

Behind the woman a man stood, beaming at Kal.  As Kal broke away from Martha's hug, Jonathan reached out and clapped him on the back.  "Son."

"Pa," Kal said, clearing his throat.  "Pete was telling me this year's pumpkin crop was coming along well."

Jonathan's face creased in a surprised smile.  "It is at that.  I'll show you later, if you like."

"Oh, I'd like that," Kal said.  Martha was hugging Pete now, much to Pete's delight and embarrassment.  Clark gestured toward the two other men.  "Ma, Pa, these are my friends Oliver and Bruce."  Oliver and Bruce nodded politely and Martha insisted on hugging them as well.  Behind them, Barbara had been hanging back a bit, and Clark put a hand on her shoulder, moving her forward.  "And this is Barbara.  We...met her on the road."

Martha's eyes took in Barbara's torn clothing and read something elusive in her face, then pulled her into an embrace that was gentler and longer than the others.  "Any friend of Clark's is a friend of ours," she said.  "And our home is your home for as long as you'd like to stay." 

Barbara pulled in a sharp breath, then put her arms around Martha and held her.  "Thank you," she said against the older woman's shoulder.

"Come in, all of you, come in," Martha said, keeping an arm around Barbara.  "Supper's just about done and we'd love to have you all."

Over a simple dinner of chicken and greens, Kal eyed the faces of his "parents."  They were an older couple, their faces lined with years of work, care, and sunlight.  The corners of Martha's pale eyes were webbed with signs of much laughter, while Jonathan's face looked more care-worn.  Martha caught him looking at her and smiled at him.  "You're just...a sight for sore eyes," Kal said, and she chuckled and blushed a little, waving an embarrassed hand in front of her face before passing him more milk.

Pete kept the conversation going smoothly, saving Kal from having to pretend he knew Smallville more than he did.  And Oliver was always glad to pick up the slack, although his conversation was much more family-friendly here. That left Kal free to take in the farmhouse:  the worn and well-scrubbed wood, the threadbare homemade rugs, the overall air of careful frugality that didn't obscure the homeliness of the place.  He found himself relaxing almost despite himself;  looking over he saw Bruce smiling slightly at a joke, the light warm on the planes of his face.

After the meal was over, Pete and Oliver said goodnight and left together, still bickering.  Martha caught Barbara in a yawn and suggested she show the girl her bedroom;  Barbara agreed sleepily.  Once they went upstairs, Jonathan leaned closer to Bruce and Clark, his posture all business now.  "We got the message that you two needed a place to stay for a bit before moving west?" 

Bruce nodded.  "Clark's...newly-joined."  Kal wondered briefly why he was still calling him by his false name, then realized that of course he couldn't call him "Kal-El" without making it obvious what he truly was.  "I wanted him to see some of what we're doing here.  Some of the progress we've made."

Jonathan nodded, refraining from asking what "Clark's" real name was, to Kal's relief.  "Well, our house is open to you."  He turned to Kal.  "You expressed an interest in my crops?  I could use an extra hand in the fields for a few days, if you don't mind getting up with the sun and getting your hands dirty."

Kal nodded, feeling a smile creeping onto his face.  "That would be great.  I'd like the chance to help."

They talked for a while longer about small things--Martha's cooking, the weather--and then Jonathan showed them to their rooms.

They were separate rooms, of course, Kal realized with a small jolt of surprise.  There was no reason for them to share a room;  they weren't a master and slave here, nor were they...well, anything else. 

The door closed behind him and he found himself alone, without Bruce in the room with him for the first time in weeks.  It was a strange feeling.  He had been looking forward, without even realizing it, to going over the day's events with Bruce.  He looked at the closed door, reached out to touch it lightly.  Two closed doors between them and some time free of his Kryptonian master for Bruce.

He went to bed, hearing the soft breathing of the many humans in the house all around him.

: : :

The next day was a blur of images, each a bright gem to be stored away for later:

In the fields with Jonathan, the first rays of sunrise starting to trickle over the horizon.  The hoe makes a quiet chunk, chunk noise as they turn the ground together.  Pulling weeds with his hands, the delicate tracery of roots coming free of the earth, releasing a scent of loam and dust.  Dirt, black under his fingernails.  He and Jonathan don't talk much.  Picking tomatoes, the small snap as the red globe comes free.  Zucchini.  Squash.

Jonathan takes him to a barn, shows him:  seed stores, a bewildering variety, stockpiled.  "Too many Terran varieties have been almost wiped out to make way for the iao," says Jonathan.  "We're saving them here."  Tiny black seeds like sand, gray ovals, bulbs stored in the cool dark.  A renaissance of plant life, waiting for a day of rebirth when the fields of red blossoms can be uprooted.  For this alone everyone on the plantation could be executed.

Lunch back at the farm.  The kitchen is hot with the scent of canning tomatoes.  It turns out Barbara can read, and she's been put to work in an archive.  She's alight with information, brimming over with it.  "They've asked me to come back and help categorize the poetry they salvaged," she says to Kal.  "They say I'm good at it."  She throws her arms around him in a hug.  "I'm going to stay here with your parents and help.  Thank you." 

Helping Martha dry meat into jerky in a smoker in the back.  "For people making the journey west," she says.  "It's not so easy on foot."  He still doesn't know what lies west and isn't sure if he should even ask.  "Jonathan says you've got a good hand for farming," she says.  "Says you know the soil and how to treat it right."  She pauses.  "If you ever wanted to stay here, not move on...you'd be welcome."  He doesn't know what to say but thank you, but that seems to be enough for now.

Pete gives him a tour of the rest of the plantation.  They stop to pick a couple of apples and eat them, crisp sharp sweetness punctuating the conversation.  Pete tells him stories about every corner, every field.  "Isn't this dangerous?" Kal asks.  "Keeping the archives, sheltering the runaways?  What if the plantation's owner--"

Pete laughs and tosses the core into a field.  "Gur-Ko?  He's never once visited this place.  I hear he's terrified of humans, thinks we're all infectious or something.  Can't bear any contact with us.  He had a radio installed decades ago to communicate with Jonathan and Martha, but I don't think he even uses that.  Like our voices might contaminate him."  He frowns.  "Wish I could."  Kal knows Gur-Ko--knows his name, at least.  He's an older Kryptonian, a historian, who didn't make the transition well.  Mostly he stays in his quarters and watches old holograms of Krypton's glories.

They walk by an archery range where Oliver is training a group of men and women in how to use a bow and arrow.  "What can that possibly do against a Kryptonian?" Kal asks. 

Oliver pulls the string taut and the arrow buries itself deep in the heart of the target.  "Low-tech solutions to high-tech problems," Pete says.  Kal remembers the burning green powder on the tip of Selina's whip and shudders briefly.

A game of some sort using a small white ball and a wooden stick breaks out as the sun sets.  Kal struggles both to understand the rules that everyone else seems to know and to keep his enhanced abilities under control.  As a result he's the clumsiest and least coordinated member of the team, prompting some good-natured jeers and catcalls from the other side.  Pete almost gets into a fistfight with one of the jeerers.  "Jerk," he says after Kal extricates him.  "Someone oughta teach him to be polite to guests."  Kal's team wins the game when Barbara steals home;  she's carried back to the farm and dinner on the shoulders of her teammates.

: : :

Bruce was at the kitchen table already when Kal and Barbara came in;  he looked up from a book and smiled at Barbara's flushed face.  "Hail the conquering hero," he said.

Barbara laughed.  "You've already heard?"

Bruce closed the book.  "I might have been watching."

She looked curious as they sat down.  "Why didn't you join us?"

A flicker of something passed over Bruce's face and he shrugged wordlessly.  Then Martha brought the biscuits to the table and the conversation veered away into discussions of the meal and Barbara's archiving duties.

There were crickets singing outside the window as Kal slipped between the sheets, and in the distance a chorus of frogs.  He was still listening when there was a tentative scratch at the door.

"Come in," he said, expecting Barbara, and was surprised when Bruce slipped into the room, another shadow among the shadows.  "What are you doing here?" he asked without thinking, and Bruce stopped.

"I wanted to...ask how your day was," Bruce said. 

"Not bad. I didn't slip up. Everyone still thinks I'm human," Kal said.

"That's not--" Bruce started, then fell silent again.

"Besides, you were keeping an eye on me from a distance, weren't you?"

"Maybe a little."  A short silence in the cricket-singing dark.  "You looked like you were having fun.  I felt my presence would be an...interruption."

Kal wasn't sure what to say to that so he said nothing at all.  The shadow that was Bruce sat down in an armchair next to the bed, a soft creak of wood in the dark.

"I could spend more time with you tomorrow, perhaps."  Bruce's voice was level, blank;  Kal couldn't tell if there was hope or dread or duty behind it.  He bit his lip and thought for a while before answering.

"You don't have to. You should do what you want to do."

Bruce chuckled, low and ironic. "What I want to do," he echoed.

Kal nodded even though Bruce probably couldn't see him. "It's your choice. Do what you want."

Another long pause.  Then Bruce got up and went to the door.  "I'll take your advice.  Good night, Clark," he said.

"Sleep well, Bruce."

The door clicked shut behind him, leaving Kal alone in the dark, cotton sheets cool under his hands.

: : :

Kal was sipping coffee in the kitchen, getting ready to go out into the fields with Jonathan again, when Bruce came into the room rubbing his eyes and yawning.  "Coffee?" he mumbled.

Jonathan handed him a mug.  "You're up early."

"Mm."  Bruce took a long sip of coffee, not looking at Kal.  "Anna just came by to say they need me at the archives to translate some material from Hindi to English.  I'll be there all morning."  Then he looked up at Kal over the rim of his mug.  "I'll be free from lunch on, though.  I was wondering if...you'd like to spend the afternoon together?  If Jonathan can spare you, of course."

Jonathan chuckled.  "If he promises to work extra-hard all morning I think I can give him the afternoon off.  If you'd like, of course," he added to Kal.

"Oh," said Kal.  "Yes."  He stared down at his coffee, afraid his blaze of delight and hope and yearning would be in his eyes for anyone to see.  "I'd like that."

: : :

They walked, the afternoon sun warm on their shoulders, walked without speaking, without purpose, just walking through the fields.  When they came to a little stream--no more than a rivulet, really, a tiny creek shaded by broad trees--Bruce stopped and washed his hands in the clear water.  Then he sat down on a smooth rock on the bank and tossed pebbles into the water.  Kal sat down on the other side of the stream and threw in a few pebbles as well; the rings and ripples touched and crossed each other.  After a while, Kal said "You didn't have to--"

"--I wanted to," said Bruce, a bit irritably.  "I'm not in the mood to second-guess myself today."  He examined one of his pebbles carefully, as if it were very important to determine if it were quartz or granite before throwing it into the creek.  "I'm tired. And I'm not very good at this," he said. "Talking to people.  You probably should be hanging out with Pete and Oliver if you want to learn about humans.  About friendship."

"I can't be friends with someone who doesn't know who I really am," Kal said.  He missed the water and his stone pinged off another rock.  "That's not friendship, that's a lie.  Clark is a lie."

Bruce made a non-committal humming noise.  "Clark's a good, decent man.  He likes plants and the earth and Martha's biscuits.  He hates slavery and he fights it.  Those aren't lies."  He tossed another rock into the water, not looking at Kal.  "Being friends with that person isn't a lie."

"I'm Kryptonian."

Bruce stood up suddenly, a sharp motion as if he couldn't sit still another moment.  He jumped over the creek in one fluid leap and landed next to Kal on the rock, crouching next to him, eyes intent on him.  "Is that the sum total of what you are?  Is that all you are?" he asked.  He was leaning close to Kal, very close.  "Because I see much more than that."  He reached out, his hand almost touching Kal's cheek;  Kal could feel the warmth of his fingertips, so close to his skin.  "Clark isn't a lie.  He's there, he's you, he's waiting for--"  One fingertip grazed Kal's cheek, infinitely light, and he pulled his hand back.  "--waiting for the right day."  Kal didn't think that had been what he was going to say.  But the moment was past;  Bruce was starting to move again, down the creek bank.  "Don't insult the people of Smallville by assuming they're such bad judges of character," Bruce said when Kal caught up to him.

Kal shrugged.  "I can't help it;  they seem to like you, so I have to have my doubts." 

Bruce stared at him.  "Did you just make a joke?"  He blinked.  "Wait, did you just insult me?"

Kal grinned.  "Human males seem to do that a lot to each other;  I thought I'd better practice.  What do you think?  Natural?"

Bruce shook his head sadly, disappointment etched on his features.  "Honestly.  I thought you were smarter than that."  He waved one arm in a despairing gesture, as if calling the universe's attention to trials he had to put up with.  "You've been all over the galaxy and you can't even get this right."

"What?  What did I get wrong?"

They were almost to Jonathan and Martha's porch when Bruce stopped and looked at Kal.  "It isn't something human males do to just any human males."  He started up the steps.  "They do it to their friends." 

He swung open the door.  "Idiot," he shot back over his shoulder as he went in.

Kal charged into the kitchen hot on his trail.  "Oh yeah?"  he retorted.  "Well...uh..."  He stopped, realizing suddenly he had no snappy comeback at all.  Martha and Barbara were washing a few dishes, pausing with dishcloths in hand to look at him.  Bruce had already snagged a biscuit and was eating it, looking smug.  "You're the idiot," Kal concluded lamely.

Barbara looked confused.  "What's the matter?"

Martha patted her hand.  "They're just teasing each other.  Boys are like that.  There's no problem, is there?" she asked, lifting an eyebrow at Bruce.

Bruce shook his head around a mouthful of biscuit, swallowed.  "No, ma'am."

Kal sat down next to Bruce, but not before stealing his biscuit.  "No problem at all," he said as Bruce sputtered and Barbara laughed at them.

And for a little while--for a few stolen hours--it almost seemed true.

Comments

[bradygirl_12]

I knew I was going to love this chapter! :)

So gentle and sweet and safe for now, Jonathan and Martha their usual wonderful selves, Barbara getting to archive, Ollie to teach the bow-and-arrow, and Clark getting to farm! He's a natural at it. :)

I hope that the farm stays safe, but it's worrisome that all that illegal activity is going on. *wibbles*

Bruce is sweet, wanting to be with Clark but hanging back, teaching him about friendship despite what he says.

And Clark is a very good observer of the Kents and the house.

Excellent chapter, Mithen! :)

[premium-shaday.livejournal.com]

And for a little while--for a few stolen hours--it almost seemed true
WAT. D8
GEEZ, be ominous and foreboding, why don't you!? D:>

[fictionalknight.livejournal.com]

hee! OK, the next best thing to "fic with my morning coffee" is "fic just before I go to bed" ;) And this was such a fun, happy part of the story, too - I expect to see the boys smiling and teasing one another in my dreams later. ;)

Thanks for sharing! :D I know I totally sound like a broken record by now, but I have so much love for this AU. :happy sigh:

[mithen.livejournal.com]

So gentle and sweet and safe for now, Jonathan and Martha their usual wonderful selves, Barbara getting to archive, Ollie to teach the bow-and-arrow, and Clark getting to farm! He's a natural at it. :)

He takes to it very well...getting him here and letting him see people being more or less free, experiencing the daily life and the earth, was really important.

Bruce is sweet, wanting to be with Clark but hanging back, teaching him about friendship despite what he says.

That's an interesting statement, because in some ways the hanging back is part of the friendship, wanting to give him the chance to connect to other people without being around to make him less comfortable.

And Clark is a very good observer of the Kents and the house.

In her comment on the last chapter, snake_easing pointed out it would be really hard for Kal to pass for long, which is very true. He gets by in this chapter at least by mostly letting others do most of the talking and take the lead. Baseball was almost too much for him, though, lol. Luckily there are probably other humans who've grown up away from human culture as companions and so people don't press him too much. If this stopover was longer than a chapter I'd definitely have to show him raising some suspicions...

*hugs* Thanks for the comment!

[mithen.livejournal.com]

Idylls can never last terribly long? *grin* Well, they'd have to move on in a few days in any case, whether something bad happens or not...

[mithen.livejournal.com]

Hey, I caught you before you went to bed, yay! I must have been on Early Posting Schedule. :)

Bruce teasing Kal in this world makes me all kinds of happy, maybe because Kal just has no real frame of reference for it and is baffled and delighted in equal measures. :)

[confusedkayt.livejournal.com]

Sigh. This chapter is lovely - the beautiful ache of almost. Although I echo another commenter in thinking there's kind of a "dun dun DUN!" at the end...

[typicalteen29.livejournal.com]

*cautiously steps out of the shadows of Lurkerdom*

Okay, gotta say this is exactly what I needed tonight. Not only that but the entire chapter was all fluffy and cute. I thought for like thirty seconds those two were gonna open their eyes or pull their heads out of - Well, ya know! :)

I love the fast updates. Now I am going to shamelessly stalk your journal for further chapters, like most lurkers do.

So. Ahem. Back to my business! *darts off to hide*

[skund.livejournal.com]

This was just wonderful, mithen! I love how you've depicted the quiet sanctuary of the farm. Bruce is an excellent friend, despite what he says.

Awww. It's like tranquility/chaos (that's presumably to come), instead of hurt/comfort. Can't wait for the next chapter! :D

[guani.livejournal.com]

*melts for joy*
Kal would be good at farming! I'm sure he found it soothing to be so connected with the earth, and the Kents love him already! Definitely hope to see more of Jonathan and Martha in the future.

Bruce and Kal are such sweet almost friends, and trying to fit back into the master-slave dynamic is going to be so much harder for Kal now.
But regardless, the two of them need to get their act together and start realizing where exactly their feelings are headed... :D

Ahh! The ending sounds so ominous!

...hmm, if that wasn't coherent, I blame it on the lack of sleep.

[mithen.livejournal.com]

"The beautiful ache of almost" is exactly the feeling I've been trying for, so thank you so much! And, uh...well, I didn't mean the ending to sound ominous since they'd have to move on eventually no matter what, but...yeah, there will be problems, I'm afraid!

[seiberwing.livejournal.com]

Aww! Smallville sounds wonderful, at least compared to everywhere else.

[shiny-n-new.livejournal.com]

Ahhh, this is such a lovely chapter. I always love seeing Martha and Jonathan. The way Clark/Kal and Bruce both so clearly want to be closer and can't quite bridge the gap yet feels very real and natural.

Just a comment on the series in general, but I love all the little character details that make the people in the story so clearly *themselves*, regardless of the AU setting.

[wanderer-owl.livejournal.com]

In one day, they miss each other. So cute!

[(Anonymous)]

You are spoiling us updating twice in one week.

I love this chapter it really is an idylle.

Seems like with so many humans around Bruce introverted ( associal ? ) tendencies are becoming more aparent. Interesting that he feels insecure about it.

Between that and Kal feeling unworthy because he is kriptonian I have a feeling the relationship is going to take a while.

[ibis-thoth.livejournal.com]

Lovely addition to the tale! I love Bruce and Clark hemming and hawing around what they feel because of the restrictions of their perceptions, by the way.

[ilovetobefree.livejournal.com]

WOW, that was such a wonderful surprise to find a new update today morning. You made my day Mithen. :)
Martha and Jonathan were totally adorable. I loved them. You described them so well! :)

Oliver pulls the string taut and the arrow buries itself deep in the heart of the target. "Low-tech solutions to high-tech problems," Pete says. Kal remembers the burning green powder on the tip of Selina's whip and shudders briefly.
Sentences like these always make me afraid for Kal – being Kryptonian – it can be danger for him in the future.

Kal nodded even though Bruce probably couldn't see him. "It's your choice. Do what you want."

Another long pause. Then Bruce got up and went to the door. "I'll take your advice. Good night, Clark," he said.

"Sleep well, Bruce."

The door clicked shut behind him, leaving Kal alone in the dark, cotton sheets cool under his hands.
Oh no! Boys! *Sigh*

Kal sat down next to Bruce, but not before stealing his biscuit. "No problem at all," he said as Bruce sputtered and Barbara laughed at them.
I loved, absolutely loved the ending. :)

Amazing Chapter!
Thanks for sharing.:)
Can’t wait for more.

[zenithjolt.livejournal.com]

XDDDDDDDD

This was wonderful! Johnathan and Martha, always great. This chapter was excellent, update soon!

[starsandsea.livejournal.com]

Martha's eyes took in Barbara's torn clothing and read something elusive in her face, then pulled her into an embrace that was gentler and longer than the others. "Any friend of Clark's is a friend of ours," she said. "And our home is your home for as long as you'd like to stay."

*hugs Martha and Barbara*

The door closed behind him and he found himself alone, without Bruce in the room with him for the first time in weeks. It was a strange feeling. He had been looking forward, without even realizing it, to going over the day's events with Bruce. He looked at the closed door, reached out to touch it lightly. Two closed doors between them and some time free of his Kryptonian master for Bruce.

*huggles Kal*

Jonathan takes him to a barn, shows him: seed stores, a bewildering variety, stockpiled. "Too many Terran varieties have been almost wiped out to make way for the iao," says Jonathan. "We're saving them here." Tiny black seeds like sand, gray ovals, bulbs stored in the cool dark. A renaissance of plant life, waiting for a day of rebirth when the fields of red blossoms can be uprooted. For this alone everyone on the plantation could be executed.

*hearts Martha and Johnathan, and everyone in Smallville*

It turns out Barbara can read, and she's been put to work in an archive. She's alight with information, brimming over with it. "They've asked me to come back and help categorize the poetry they salvaged," she says to Kal. "They say I'm good at it." She throws her arms around him in a hug. "I'm going to stay here with your parents and help. Thank you."

Eeee! *hearts Babs*

"If you ever wanted to stay here, not move on...you'd be welcome." He doesn't know what to say but thank you, but that seems to be enough for now.

*wibbles a bit*

Oliver pulls the string taut and the arrow buries itself deep in the heart of the target. "Low-tech solutions to high-tech problems," Pete says. Kal remembers the burning green powder on the tip of Selina's whip and shudders briefly.

*pets Kal*

"You looked like you were having fun. I felt my presence would be an...interruption."

*huggles Bruce*

Kal was sipping coffee in the kitchen, getting ready to go out into the fields with Jonathan again, when Bruce came into the room rubbing his eyes and yawning. "Coffee?" he mumbled.

Awww, sleepy!Bruce! *glomps him*

"Oh," said Kal. "Yes." He stared down at his coffee, afraid his blaze of delight and hope and yearning would be in his eyes for anyone to see. "I'd like that."

*pets Kal*

Bruce made a non-committal humming noise. "Clark's a good, decent man. He likes plants and the earth and Martha's biscuits. He hates slavery and he fights it. Those aren't lies." He tossed another rock into the water, not looking at Kal. "Being friends with that person isn't a lie."

*cheers Bruce on*

He swung open the door. "Idiot," he shot back over his shoulder as he went in.

*giggles*

Kal sat down next to Bruce, but not before stealing his biscuit. "No problem at all," he said as Bruce sputtered and Barbara laughed at them.

*giggles again*

I love seeing Kal in Smallville, trying to fit in and become Clark... he's doing a really good job of it! *pets him and Bruce* I hope there's more soon! :)

[brushed-velvet.livejournal.com]

*argle*

So many things I love in this chapter:

Introspective!Bruce voicing his personality traits.
Kal missing sharing things with Bruce the first night apart.
Bruce wanting to spend time with Kal but wanting to give him space too.
The scene by the stream!
The teasing at the end plus all the little details with Martha and Johnathan and Barbara et all.

Just one little typo I think:

Everything still thinks I'm human

Should be 'Everyone'?

(Just to say, if the odd typo doesn't bother you, feel free to tell me so. Some authors aren't bothered by them and others hate them so I'm never quite sure whether to point the odd one out or not)

[batfan-sarah.livejournal.com]

yay! i love how clark just fits in so well on the farm, and how welcoming and wonderful the kents are...and clark and bruce's afternoon together is full of woobie and almosts.

i adore this story so much jen, and i'm beyond excited to see where it goes as you continue. i hope the farm stays safe, and i'm glad barbara seems to have found a place :)

[mithen.livejournal.com]

Aw, thanks! There's a special delight in getting a comment from a lurker. *grin*

I thought for like thirty seconds those two were gonna open their eyes or pull their heads out of - Well, ya know! :)

I might just be taking way too much pleasure in writing a story where the UST has good external reasons to exist beyond the characters being shy or reluctant. :)

I'm hoping to update again fairly soon! I've been tinkering with chapters a bit, but I think the next one is almost ready to go...

Thanks so much for the comment!

[fictionalknight.livejournal.com]

I must have been on Early Posting Schedule. :)

um...actually...more like me being up too late for my own good. It was past midnight. ;) This was worth staying up for, though -- totally!

Bruce teasing Kal in this world makes me all kinds of happy, maybe because Kal just has no real frame of reference for it and is baffled and delighted in equal measures. :)

hehehe! It's definitely very endearing. :D I very much enjoy the relationship between the two characters, in this universe. (even if Clark reflects that they don't have much of one at all, in this part...silly boy!)

[mithen.livejournal.com]

Bruce is an excellent friend, despite what he says.

Bruce never gives himself enough credit in relational things...part of what I love about him. :)

Hmmm...there is actually some hurt/comfort to come as well, now that you mention it! I'm hoping to have the next chapter up by this weekend, so... *runs off to tinker*

*runs back to thank you for the wonderful comment!*

[mithen.livejournal.com]

Bruce and Kal are such sweet almost friends, and trying to fit back into the master-slave dynamic is going to be so much harder for Kal now.

It definitely is! When you've gotten used to casual snark, deference is just painful. But it's a good step in their relationship, I think/hope. :)

The ending is coming across more ominous then I meant it to, but...there definitely is some cause for worry. :) I hope to update by the end of the weekend at the latest!